From the Liveblog of
Thursday, July 31, 2025
German foreign minister jetting to Jerusalem for talks on Gaza amid Palestine recognition wave
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleNava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will travel to Israel today and meet with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar at 5:45 p.m. in Jerusalem, according to the Foreign Ministry and a German embassy spokesperson.
The two will hold “political talks,” primarily focused on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and possibly discuss the recent wave of Western allies — excluding Berlin — that have formally expressed intent to recognize a Palestinian state, according to the embassy.
Wadephul will also hold meetings in the West Bank tomorrow before returning to Germany, the embassy adds.
The Foreign Ministry has not provided further details on the meeting’s agenda. Wadephul’s trip had not been previously announced.
Earlier this week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Germany, France and the United Kingdom were considering sending their foreign ministers to Israel on August 7 as they sought to ramp up international pressure over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“We will probably ask the three foreign ministers [to] travel to Israel together next Thursday to present the position of… the three governments,” Merz said, adding that two of his country’s aircraft were en route to Jordan to help fly aid missions to Gaza.
No plans have been announced for visits by UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy or French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot.
The Times of Israel Community.