German foreign minister to visit Israel, Lebanon next week
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German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will travel to Israel on Monday and also visit Lebanon amid rising concerns about an escalation in the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
Baerbock is also expected to address Israel's ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, the catastrophic humanitarian situation there and efforts to keep alive hopes for a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians, according to a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office.
It is Baerbock's eighth visit to Israel since the bloody terrorist attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vehemently rejected a two-state solution, which would involve granting Palestinians a sovereign state, as does Hamas.
According to the spokeswoman, Baerbock will first attend the regular meeting of the European Union's Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on Monday, which will focus on joint support for Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion as well as the situation in the Middle East.
In the evening, Baerbock is scheduled to give a speech at the Herzliya Security Conference held at Reichman University, located not far from the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv.
On Tuesday, talks are planned in Ramallah with the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Mohammed Mustafa, on the situation in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the PA's reform efforts.
A meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz is planned in Jerusalem.
On Tuesday evening, Baerbock will travel to Lebanon and meet Lebanese Prime Minister Nadschib Mikati in Beirut.
Violent clashes along the Lebanese-Israeli border and the recent Israeli approval of plans for a military offensive into southern Lebanon are expected to be discussed.
