Meeting PM Netanyahu, German Chancellor: Israel's Security Lies in Solutions with Palestine, Not Against It

PM Netanyahu with Chancellor Scholz. (Twitter/@Bundeksizler)

JAKARTA - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz questioned the "extremely high costs" of Israel's attack on the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza on Sunday, saying the world cannot just stand by and watch Palestinians face the risk of starvation in the region.

Speaking after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Chancellor Scholz said he expressed concern about the high number of civilian casualties and the lack of aid reaching Gaza, where aid agencies say a famine is imminent.

Although many countries have expressed similar concerns, the warnings were particularly harsh for the German leader, who continually underscored Israel's right to defend itself following the Hamas attack on October 7.

Germany has been one of Israel's staunchest allies besides the United States, underscoring its obligation to stand by the country in atonement for its actions against the Nazi Holocaust that killed 6 million Jews.

"The more desperate the situation of the people in Gaza, the greater the question that arises: No matter how important the goal is, can it justify the very high costs, or is there another way to achieve your goal?" said Chancellor Scholz, reported by Reuters 18 March.

Chancellor Scholz's trip on Sunday to Jordan and Israel came after Israel on Friday approved plans to attack the city of Rafah on the southern edge of the Palestinian enclave, where more than half of its 2.3 million residents have taken refuge after five months of war.

לישראל יש זכות להגן על עצמה. אנחנו עומדים לצידה.

מחיר המבצע הצבאי של ישראל גבוה. יש אומרים גבוה מדי. המצב בעזה נואש. כידיד ישראל, הבעתי היום את דאגתי בפני ראש הממשלה @netanyahu 1/3 pic.twitter.com/nVl2pt5XMY

— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) March 17, 202

Global allies and critics are urging PM Netanyahu to postpone the attack on Rafah, fearing large civilian casualties. However, Israel says it is one of the last Hamas strongholds that they have vowed to eliminate, with civilians to be evacuated.

"How should more than 1.5 million people be protected? Where should they go?" Chancellor Scholz asked.

Chancellor Scholz added that he had spoken to PM Netanyahu about the need for aid distribution conditions to be "urgently and massively improved".

"We cannot stand by and watch as Palestinians risk starvation," he said.

"That's not us. That's not what we are fighting for," he said.

Sustainable security will not come from "higher walls and deeper trenches", but from a positive perspective for Israeli and Palestinian society, meaning a two-state solution, he said.

For this reason, continued Scholz, the Palestinian Authority needs to be reformed and strengthened, both in terms of personnel and structure.

"Eternal security for future generations of Israelis lies in solutions with the Palestinians, not against them," he said.

"Terror cannot be defeated only by military means," said Chancellor Scholz.

However, Chancellor Scholz did not directly answer the question of whether Germany would react to the massive attack on Rafah, for example by limiting German arms exports to Israel.

Meanwhile, PM Netanyahu responded by saying that an agreement that makes Israel look weak will create an unsustainable peace.