<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>German Chancellor Friedrich Merz asserted this Thursday that both he and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez fully share the general assessment of the situation in Gaza, but made it clear that Germany stands "on the side of Israel" and has no intention of recognizing the Palestinian state and does not support the term "genocide" to define the situation.</strong></h4> "Germany has supported all the United Nations resolutions urging Israel to cease violence, allow access to humanitarian aid, and move toward a two-state political solution," Pedro Sánchez acknowledged during the joint press conference held by the two leaders after a bilateral meeting at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid. “We are a country that has suffered from terrorism for a long time, with ETA terrorism and with the largest jihadist terrorist attack, which took place here in Madrid, and we know how to defeat terrorism, which is not what the Israeli government has been doing with indiscriminate attacks against the civilian population,” he continued. “The result of all this is an Israel that is not only more isolated, but also more insecure, and a region that is more insecure than before the terrible Hamas terrorist attacks,” he warned. “It is a profoundly misguided strategy that is worsening the situation for the Palestinian people and the entire region,” asserted Pedro Sánchez. Regarding the term “genocide,” Sánchez stated that, during his meeting with Merz, they had not discussed “how to describe what happened.” “There are various reports from UN commissions, such as this week's, which classifies it as genocide,” but “the governments of Spain and Germany are united” in their “disagreement” with “the path Israel has chosen to achieve its objectives” and in their support for “the peaceful coexistence of the two peoples, the cessation of violence, the political horizon of two states, the need for the suffering to end, and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” he stated. <h5><strong>Merz</strong></h5> “The Federal Government has a very clear position: we are on Israel's side, but that does not mean we share all its decisions,” declared Friedrich Merz. “One thing is clear: the Israeli government's policy can be criticized, but it should never be used to incite hatred against Jews, and we both agree on that,” he added. According to the chancellor, Germany and Spain share their "concern about the humanitarian situation and the current Israeli ground offensive in Gaza," as well as the possibility that Benjamin Netanyahu's government could launch an operation to annex the West Bank, which "would hamper the two-state solution." However, he recalled, "it is no secret that our conclusions differ." "The Federal Government is not considering recognizing the Palestinian state," whose recognition "should be the final step toward the two-state solution," he asserted. Likewise, he continued, Madrid and Berlin share their rejection of the "extreme suffering of the civilian population of Gaza" and that Netanyahu's response "is not proportional to the goals that Israel rightly hopes to achieve." "This war will end when Hamas releases the hostages," but "we do not share the Israeli government's view that this is how it will achieve its goals," he insisted. In short, he stated, “We share (with Spain) the criticism of the procedures, but we do not share the definition of genocide.” The chancellor declined to comment clearly on the sanctions proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (German and a member of the CDU, like Merz) against Israel, which include the partial suspension of trade agreements, sanctions against extremist Israeli ministers and settlers, and a suspension of bilateral aid. “At the European level, there will be a joint decision in the coming days,” he stated. “The German Parliament will make a decision next week and there will be deliberations within the German government,” and, based on that, “there will be a German position at the Informal Council on October 1 in Copenhagen,” he explained. Meanwhile, he recalled, “five weeks ago we made the decision that Germany would not deliver arms or ammunition to Israel that could be used in this conflict.” Pedro Sánchez also did not elaborate on von der Leyen's proposals. “We agree,” he asserted. "We have been asking the European Commission for over a year to suspend the Association Agreement with Israel" due to "violation of the article on respect for international humanitarian law," he recalled.
