German Offer May Help Pave Way for Cease-Fire

Der Spiegel by Ralf Beste | Jan. 13, 2009 (News Report)

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has offered Egypt his country's assistance in stopping arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip. The proposal could help Israel eventually agree to a cease-fire. It could also boost Steinmeier's domestic standing ahead of a general election in September.

At 5:28 p.m. on Saturday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier got a taste of the war raging in Gaza. He was standing on the terrace of the ... Full Story »

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by Marsha Iverson - Jan. 14, 2009

Detailed commentary on German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier's trip to Israel and Egypt, offering to "help lead to a cease-fire in Gaza...eventually...and the pending German elections in which he intends to run against the Intriguing look at the higher echelons of international "diplomacy" and the underlying, unrelated considerations that affect decisions.

Let's see...the German government wants to help the Israeli government by teaching the Egyptians how to stop smugglers. And the innocent Gazan civilians continue to die. What is wrong with this picture? I do like the idea that the Israeli government needs a reason to cease their attacks on Gaza, and I applaud any government or leader who tries to stop the violence, but this gracious offer by Germany doesn't sit well with me, because it doesn't seem to have the interests of any Palestinians at heart.

Germany, Steinmeier offered, could send training staff and technical equipment to help Egypt pursue smugglers in the hinterland of the Sinai Peninsula, the Egyptian region bordering Gaza. Smuggling into Gaza is one of the thorniest issues in solving the current crisis. Israel wants to destroy the rocket arsenals of the radical Islamist Hamas group through bombardment and ground assault. But the operation will be in vain as long as Hamas can be resupplied through its approximately 400 tunnels under Gaza’s border with Egypt. Egypt claims that it is combating the smuggling and that virtually only civilian goods are getting to Gaza through the tunnels. But neither the Israelis nor the Germans believe that.

Marsha posted this story.