Overview

• In a guest essay, the former Merkel adviser and ex-UN ambassador calls on Berlin to join the majority of UN members in recognizing Palestine.
• He warns Israel could drift toward an apartheid state and denounces Gaza bombardments and West Bank settlement expansion as damaging to Israel’s standing.
• He argues recognition would not change facts on the ground soon but would signal support for Palestinians and carry weight given Germany’s ties to Israel.
• The federal government reiterates that recognition is a concluding step of a negotiated two-state solution and says it is not an option for now.
• France, Canada and Australia plan September recognition moves, and Germany declined to sign a 21-country statement urging reversal of new West Bank settlement plans.