German foreign envoy: "Special responsibility" to Israel (Roundup)

Nov 23, 2009, 21:40 GMT

Jerusalem - Germans have a 'special responsibility' toward Israel, visiting German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Monday in Jerusalem as he toured the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial to the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis during World War II.

Westerwelle, who had only just arrived in Israel, laid a wreath at the memorial. Meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman were on the schedule.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran's nuclear programme are expected to dominate the German discussions with Israeli officials.

Prior to leaving Germany, Westerwelle reiterated his government's support for a two-state solution in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, telling a news conference in Berlin that while Israel has the 'right to secure borders,' the Palestinians 'also have the right to have their own state.'

Germany has also insisted that Israel freeze construction in its settlements, including in East Jerusalem, with government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm telling journalists earlier in the day that Berlin 'deeply' regretted an Israeli decision to build apartments on land occupied in the 1967 war and incorporated into the Jerusalem municipal boundaries.

'The building of settlements in East Jerusalem is a huge stumbling block on the road to sustainable advances in the peace process,' Wilhelm said.

On Tuesday, Westerwelle is to meet with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah.

His visit comes a week before Netanyahu will meet in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Israeli and German ministers will hold a joint cabinet session.

The ministerial trip coincides with reports of renewed activity in, possibly even a successful conclusion to, German-mediated negotiations to free an Israel prisoner held captive by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas for more than three years in the Gaza Strip.

Lieberman, meeting Westerwelle late Monday, thanked his German counterpart for Berlin's efforts to bring about a deal, saying that while it was unclear whether a swap agreement would be reached, it was clear that the mediation had been professional.

Westerwelle, making his first visit to Israel in his new post, last visited the country seven years ago, when still an opposition politician. His trip then was overshadowed by remarks from his Free Democratic Party colleague Juergen Moellemann, which were seen as anti-Semitic, and Westerwelle's failure to immediately distance himself from the comments.