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Cooling off. Merkel
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Report: Berlin growing close to Ramallah

German magazine Der Spiegel says Berlin ready to upgrade relations with Palestinian Authority, while distancing itself from Jerusalem

BERLIN – The German government is ready to start meeting with Palestinian Authority officials directly, as a symbol of the strong ties between leaderships, Der Spiegel magazine reported Monday.

 

The piece further noted that the sudden warming of ties between Berlin and Ramallah was in direct correlation to the cooling off of the former's ties with Jerusalem.

 

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and five of his ministers are set to meet with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle in Berlin, Tuesday. Each of the Palestinian ministers will also meet with their respective German counterpart.

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will receive the entire Palestinian mission on Wednesday.

 

The German Foreign Ministry said that Berlin's government attributed "great importance" to the meetings.  

 

While Germany's stance is not new, Der Spiegel ventured that Israel should not be too complacent in view of Berlin's new attitude.

 

For the first time, said the magazine, Merkel is actively trying to distance herself from Israel. According to the report, her decision stems from the Israeli government's decision to continue building in east Jerusalem.

 

The magazine also noted a recent personal unpleasantness between Merkel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, caused when the content of what was supposed to be a private conversation between the two was leaked to the media, enraging the German chancellor.  

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.11.10, 00:10
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