Palestinians must respect Israel's right to exist, Germany insists

May 4, 2011, 15:20 GMT

Berlin - German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Wednesday that any Palestinian partner in the Middle East peace process has to recognize Israel's right to exist.

Westerwelle's comments came ahead of talks Friday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and as the Palestinian Fatah and Hamas parties shook hands in Cairo on a reconciliation deal which ended a bitter four-year-long dispute between the two largest Palestinian factions.

Westerwelle stressed that any party to the Middle East peace process had to observe the criteria for international cooperation set up by the so-called Quartet of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

'These criteria are the rejection of violence, the recognition of Israel's right to exist, and the recognition of all deals reached between the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) and Israel.'

He said that Germany advocated a two-state solution in which Israel could exist within secure borders alongside an autonomous Palestinian state.

'For this reason, no organization is acceptable to us that wants to use force to question Israel's right to exist. For us, this is a red line that cannot be crossed.'

'We want an inter-Palestinian dialogue, but whoever questions with force Israel's right to exist is no partner in our view,' the minister added.

Westerwelle was due to meet Abbas in Berlin later Wednesday. The Palestinian leader was scheduled to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel the following day.

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