Germany, which has been a staunch supporter of Israel as it carries out genocidal attacks on the Gaza Strip, said it would announce humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza by €50 million ($55 million), its Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who's currently visiting Jordan, said Thursday. The top German diplomat also condemned Tel Aviv's attempts to further destabilize the Middle East.
Baerbock, speaking at a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi, said Germany has now pledged more than €360 million since last year to Gazans.
The focus of the latest aid push is combating hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition, along with the provision of health services as Israel destroys civilian infrastructure in its ruthless attacks.
In addition, humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees in Jordan is to be increased by €12.7 million, raising German aid to Jordan to €63 million over the course of 2024.
According to the German Foreign Office, two convoys of 120 trucks per week travel from Jordan directly to the Gaza Strip via border crossings in the north of the Gaza Strip. Germany is to provide an additional €5 million to support this access.
Before traveling on to Israel as part of a two-day trip, Baerbock was to visit a warehouse operated by the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO), a non-governmental organization playing a key role in distributing Jordanian aid to the Gaza Strip.
The JHCO provides medical equipment, food, tents, household goods and clothing. It is supported by the German government with €4 million for the purchase of trucks, fuel and vehicle maintenance.
Baerbock's trip to Israel could be frosty after she called on parts of the Israeli government to stop fuelling religious tensions amid the war in Gaza.
"We firmly reject any attempts to shake up the existing status quo of the holy sites in Jerusalem," the Green politician said.
Actions of individual Israeli ministers, such as the visit of the far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, "are irresponsible and are already fuelling an absolutely explosive situation. We expect the Israeli side to stop this provocation," Baerbock added.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.
Baerbock said that the recent outbreak of violence in the Palestinian West Bank, on the other side of Israel from Gaza, was causing the German government great concern.
"Israel is the occupying power in the West Bank and is obliged under the Geneva Convention to uphold law and order rather than jeopardize it," she said.
"This explicitly includes protecting the population from attacks by violent, radical settlers."
Israel has the right to combat terrorism, she said, "but you don't fight terror by tearing up roads, destroying water pipes and electricity grids or even blocking access to hospitals."
Jordanian Foreign Minister Al-Safadi called on the German government to impose sanctions on Israel.
"After more than 10 months of aggression (in Gaza), (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu will obviously listen neither to the U.N. Security Council nor to the advice of his friends in the West," said Al-Safadi.
Netanyahu will continue if he is not threatened with consequences for his actions, he said.
Baerbock arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks earlier on Thursday, before traveling on to Jordan.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza, where more than 34,100 people have been killed.
