Sa’ar slams German envoy to Israel’s ‘obsession’ after post noting settler violence

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar blasts German Ambassador Steffen Seibert, saying he is looking forward to the diplomat’s replacement after the German envoy writes about settler violence in the same post in which he laments Israeli casualties across the country.

In a post on X, Seibert laments the death of an 18-year-old Israeli who was hit by a Palestinian car in the West Bank yesterday; the Israeli farmer killed in the north amid the conflict with Hezbollah this morning; hundreds hurt by Iranian missile strikes; and “the violent settler rampage in Palestinian villages.”

Sa’ar responds that Seibert “finds it very difficult to condemn attacks against Israelis without bringing up the Palestinians.”

“His obsession with Jews living in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] prevents him from even condemning the death of a Jew caused by a Palestinian,” Sa’ar says of 18-year-old Yehuda Sherman. “Good to know that a new ambassador will soon arrive – one who will strengthen Israel-Germany relations.”

“I have publicly condemned Iran’s random targeting of Israeli civilians and the criminal use of cluster bombs,” responds Seibert, who learned Hebrew during his tenure, which ends this year. “Germany is clear on that. We stand with Israel in this war. Settler violence also concerns us greatly, as it does the Israeli president and other leaders.”

Germany is one of Israel’s closest security and diplomatic allies.