German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock plans to extend her Middle East trip to attend a peace summit called by the Egyptian government in Cairo on Saturday in hopes that the talks can help prevent the regional escalation of the war in Gaza.
Baerbock said that the summit in Cairo will focus on how to “prevent a conflagration” and “avert a civilian catastrophe” following brutal attacks against Israel by the Islamist militant group Hamas.
Baerbock, speaking in Tel Aviv, also warned Iranian-backed militant groups such as Hezbollah not to get involved in the war. She accused Hezbollah, which has clashed with Israeli forces along Israel’s northern border, of wanting to draw all of Lebanon into the conflict.
“I’m warning Iran, I’m warning Shiite militias in Iraq, I’m warning the Houthi in Yemen not to ignite and join in the terror,” Baerbock said following a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and opposition politician Benny Gantz.
The conflict broke out after after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched bloody attacks on Israel on October 7 that killed more than 1,400 people. Israel has responded by sealing off the Gaza Strip and pounding the area with repeated airstrikes.
There are mounting fears that the war between Israel and Hamas could expand, engulfing the region in conflict. The German government on Thursday urged citizens to leave Lebanon immediately, and on Friday announced that German special forces units were deploying to Jordan and Cyprus to prepare for possible evacuation operations.
Germany also dispatched a naval frigate to Lebanon to join the United Nations UNIFIL peacekeeping mission.
“The terror of Hamas must be fought, otherwise there will be no peace and no security – neither for Israel nor for the Palestinians,” Baerbock said.
Baerbock, however, also voiced some criticism of Israel’s decision to place the densely populated Gaza Strip under a “complete siege” that involves cutting off supplies of electricity, drinking water, and food. Israeli forces have pounded Gaza with repeated strikes, leaving thousands dead.
The suffering of civilians in Gaza will “not only create the breeding ground for new terrorism but also endanger any steps toward rapprochement achieved so far with (Israel’s) Arab neighbours, because a regional conflagration is now threatening,” Baerbock said.
That, she said, was the terrorists’ calculation when planning the attacks.
“The suffering of a Palestinian mother in Gaza, who does not know where to find drinking water for her children who are dying of thirst, does not bring any of the abducted children back to their Israeli parents,” Baerbock said, referring to the more than 200 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Baerbock said the planned Cairo summit brings together leading Muslim countries from the region who do not view the conflict the same way as Israel and amid “absolute tension in the region.”
In addition to Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, other guests at the summit are expected to include Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as well as Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.
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UN Secretary-General António Guterres, European Council President Charles Michel, top EU diplomat Josep Borrell and the foreign ministers from the United Kingdom and France are also expected to attend.
Notably absent from the guest list appears to be Israel.
“As far as I know we are not invited nor will we participate,” an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Baerbock said there have been non-stop bilateral talks in recent days and that the meeting in Cairo will be “an opportunity to make it clear that terrorism is of no use to anyone in this region.”
Source: dpa
