HERZLIYA, 18 December 2003 — German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer yesterday questioned the legitimacy of the West Bank barrier being built by Israel, which he urged to seize an opportunity to resume peace talks with the Palestinians.
Speaking at a security conference in the northern Israeli town of Herzliya, Fischer called for the implementation of the roadmap blueprint and warned Israel that it stood before arguably the biggest choice of its history.
He stressed Germany’s lasting support of the Jewish state but added: “It is my firm conviction that Israel has now reached a historic fork in the road, possibly the most important since its foundation. “What is the alternative to peaceful co-existence?”
Fischer did not conceal his annoyance over Israel’s continued construction of a separation barrier, which cuts deep into the West Bank.
“Nobody in Europe or the international community contests Israel’s right to guarantee the security of its citizens and to stop terrorism for ever,” he said.
“The present course of the fence is, however, barely understandable from a security point of view. It is precisely this fact that attracts very serious criticism.” During talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday, Fischer voiced his concern that the barrier “will create facts on the ground”.
The barrier is seen by Palestinians as an attempt to pre-empt the borders of their future state although Israel insists that it is merely designed to halt attacks on its soil.
Earlier in the morning, Fischer held talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei at his Abu Dis office in the West Bank.
Qorei praised Germany for its “very constructive role” in the peace process.
The German minister was the most senior Western official to meet with Qorei since he was installed as premier last month. During his whistle-stop tour of the Middle East, Fischer also visited Egypt and Jordan, after which he claimed there was “a window of opportunity” for a resumption of the peace process.
At a press conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom after his Herzliya speech, Fischer said he “felt after trips to Cairo and Jordan that Arab states also saw it was time to move on.” “I’m an optimist. Situation is fairly complicated to put it diplomatically. The suffering on both sides must be brought to an end. With goodwill on both sides and courageous leadership maybe we can achieve this,” Fischer added.
His visit comes amid stepped up efforts by Egypt to bring Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiations table, with Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher expected in Jerusalem on Monday and a delegation representing intelligence chief Omar Suleiman is in Gaza to broker a truce deal. A first round of talks in Cairo collapsed earlier this month but Suleiman’s deputies are attempting in Gaza to persuade groups such as Hamas to call a halt to their campaign of attacks.
Fischer did not meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat who has been boycotted by the United States and Israel. Israel has a policy of refusing to meet officials who have met with Arafat on the same trip.
Sharon’s government has recently been dropping hints that he might take drastic unilateral measures, including withdrawals from most of the Gaza Strip and some settlements in the West Bank, should peace talks fail to take off.
The Israeli daily Maariv reported Tuesday that Sharon was planning to unveil a plan for a major army redeployment and the dismantling of several Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.
“All the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip will be evacuated. At the end of the process, isolated settlements in Judea and Samaria will be evacuated,” the daily said, using the Israeli term for the West Bank.
