Germany's Merkel insists on two-state solution

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Thursday for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict even if this goal is "increasingly difficult to achieve."

Speaking alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Berlin, Merkel said that Palestinians and Israelis must be able to live side-by-side in peace and security. 

Germany, as the biggest bilateral international donor to the Palestinian territories, will continue to support economic development and strengthening civil society, Merkel said.

Abbas said that Palestinians are ready to negotiate a two-state solution within 1967 borders, but he criticized US President Donald Trump for taking the side of Israel on such issues as the status of Jerusalem, refugees, borders and settlements.

Read more: Jared Kushner's plan for Palestinians: What's (not) in it?  

The Palestinians have cut off relations with the United States and no longer view Washington as a neutral arbiter.

Germany, on the other hand, has taken efforts to support a multilateral approach instead of unilateral imposition, Abbas said.

"Therefore we demand that negotiations fall under an international umbrella" composed of a quartet of European states and Arab states to guide talks between Israelis and Palestinians, Abbas said.

cw/ng (AFP, dpa)

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.