Merkel Pledges Action on Iran in Unprecedented Knesset Speech
Merkel Pledges Action on Iran in Unprecedented Knesset Speech
By Andreas Cremer
(Bloomberg) — Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to tackle the threat posed to Israel by Iran and called on Hamas to halt rocket attacks, saying Germany will never forget its “historic responsibility” toward the Jewish state.
Merkel, addressing the Knesset in Jerusalem today, said the German government would press for tighter sanctions on Iran to halt its nuclear ambitions through both the United Nations and the European Union. Qassam rocket attacks from the Hamas- controlled Gaza Strip on Israel “must stop,” she said.
“Germany’s historic responsibility means that “Israel’s security is non-negotiable for me as chancellor, Merkel told Knesset members in a speech in German. Failing to accept that responsibility would be “fatal,” she said.
Merkel, on the third day of a visit to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel out of the ashes of World War II, has regularly condemned those who threaten Israel, winning praise from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who invited her to Jerusalem. Merkel is the first German chancellor to address the Knesset, which had to change its statutes to allow her speech. The honor is usually reserved for heads of state.
“The visit by the chancellor is unprecedented in many ways, Israeli President Shimon Peres told reporters in Jerusalem earlier today. “I see Merkel’s visit as a really great contribution to add a new dimension to world attempts to end the conflict here.
`New Chapter’
Merkel, who spent the first 35 years of life in East Germany, which never recognized the state of Israel, said a “new chapter” in German-Israeli relations had been opened with the first joint Cabinet session yesterday, kicking off an annual round of governmental consultations.
Iranian possession of a nuclear weapon would have “disastrous consequences, Merkel said. “Above all for the security and existence of Israel, then for the entire region and finally for everyone in Europe and the world who subscribes to the values of freedom, democracy and human rights.
Germany is committed to a diplomatic solution on Iran, she said.
At home, Merkel has faced calls from within her coalition government to take a harder line with her hosts on their commitment to the Middle East peace process. Ruprecht Polenz, head of the German parliament’s foreign affairs committee and a member of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, urged Merkel in a March 14 interview to press Olmert on Israel’s “disturbing settlement policy, which “has fueled tensions with the Palestinians.
In her speech, Merkel restated Germany’s commitment to a two-state solution as outlined in the Annapolis conference. Israel is in no need of “unsolicited advice, she said, though it will need to find the “strength to make painful concessions.
Merkel’s visit, coming before the Israeli anniversary, shows the determination of both countries “to enhance their relationship as we look to the future,” Shimon Stein, Israel’s ambassador to Germany from 2001 to 2007, said in an interview.
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