Scholz's talks with Biden to focus on post-Gaza war scenario, says German official

BERLIN

A meeting in Washington on Friday between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden will focus on post-Gaza war plans, a top chancellery official said on Tuesday.

“We also agree with our American friends in the conviction that a political perspective after the war (in Gaza) is necessary and that this must be the path to a second-state solution,” the government source told media representatives in Berlin, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Both Washington and Berlin have repeatedly expressed their strong support for a two-state solution despite Israel’s rejection.

The question of a political perspective for Palestinians after the war in Gaza is “also important” to Berlin, adding that this is why the “debate for the day-after is important,” he added.

The official reiterated his great concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation and the surging death toll in Gaza, saying: “We are very concerned about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. The number of deaths is constantly rising.”

On Tuesday, Scholz called for “better access to humanitarian aid” for Gazans.

Berlin calls for the Palestinians in Gaza “to finally have better access to humanitarian aid and for the civilian population to be better protected during military operations. I was able to make that clear again to Israeli Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu in a telephone conversation this (Tuesday) afternoon,” Scholz told a news conference in Berlin.

The German government has been one of the strongest supporters of Israel, but has come under growing pressure recently due to the civilian killings and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

In a recent poll, 61% of Germans said Israel’s military actions in Gaza are unjustified as they have claimed too many civilian victims. Only 25% voiced support for Israel.

Israel has mounted a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, so far killing at least 27,585 Palestinians and injuring 66,978, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.