Germany's ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert said on Monday that he is "the Ambassador to Israel in accordance to its 67 borders. I'm not the ambassador outside the Green Line. We don't support the settlements."
Speaking to Haaretz's Deputy Editor-in-Chief Noa Landau at Haaretz's National Security Conference in Tel Aviv, the German ambassador claimed that if one "looks at the occupation in its 58th [year] it's very hard to say it's temporary. And we see certain actors looking to take the occupation into possession, and we aren't going to stand on the sidelines and allowed that to happen."
Seibert said that Israel and Germany "are friends," and "have to speak openly and honestly with one another. You don't tell your friends everything they are doing is perfect."
Asked about the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Seibert said that "There can't be any more important goal than getting them out, then freeing them... The image of hostages coming out of Gaza is the only thing that can heal us."
The Haaretz National Security Conference at the Tel Aviv Culture Center, on Monday.Credit: Tomer Appelbaum
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew also spoke at the conference. Talking to Haaretz's Editor-in-Chief Aluf Benn, the ambassador said that there are indications of Israeli flexibility in hostage release and cease-fire talks with Hamas.
Lew added that the while it remains to be seen whether Hamas is willing to accept the deal, "all of us are pressing as hard as we can to meet in the middle."
"Ultimately, one person on the Hamas side gets to decide, and getting him to do that is what it takes," Lew said.
Addressing a question about support for Israel in the United States, Lew said that "the fringes on both sides are the problem," adding that "the left wing is asking serious questions about Israel's conduct."
"We're Israel's best friend and its closest ally. You want there to be broad consensus," he said.
Asked by Benn whether the Biden administration is satisfied with the way Israel is conducting the war, Lew replied that "The President has been clear since October 7: Israel has the right to defend itself, including [the supply of] an unprecedented amount of military support."
However, the ambassador noted, "Israel needs to defend itself in the framework of human rights."
"Hamas isn't bound by international law... How do you fight an enemy that's embedded in civilian population? We've been careful not to criticize, but we've done what a good friend does, and that is asking hard questions and offering support," he said.
Asked by Benn about the escalation in settler violence toward Palestinians in the West Bank, Lew said that "Terrorist acts by extremist settlers demand condemnation like any other terrorist groups."
"Aggressive taking of land is an impediment to ultimately achieving a two-state solution. We've been very clear about what's right and what is wrong," the ambassador added.
French Ambassador Frederic Journes said in a conversation with Landau that "a full scale war" with Hezbollah in the north "will be extremely dangerous for the region," adding that "we already have a regional war [Ukraine-Russia]. All of a sudden, this could start to look like a World War."
"We also believe it would be very bad for Israel," Journeys said. "It would be extremely costly."
In terms of what actions France has taken to deescalate the situation, he said, "We're telling [Hezbollah] very clearly what the risks are. We're also telling this to our Israeli friends."
"But a diplomatic agreement cannot happen as long as the war is ongoing in Gaza," Journes added.
Speaking at a panel titled "The right wants war, but what is the Israeli center-left's alternative?" Labor lawmaker Gilad Kariv said that "It's the government's responsibility to create an alternative to Hamas rule [in Gaza].
"Our security policies must lean on the understanding that working in cooperation with a Palestinian leadership is the only way to secure Israel's safety," he added.
"For years, Netanyahu built up Hamas in Gaza, and now we see Netanyahu and [Finance Minister and minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel] Smotrich building up Hamas in the West Bank," Kariv said.
The Haaretz National Security Conference kicked off on Monday at the Tel Aviv Culture Center. The event, hosted by Haaretz's Sheren Falah Saab and Netta Ahituv, aims to explore the new reality in the region following the October 7 Hamas attack and the Gaza War that followed.
The conference will be attended by Knesset member, foreign ministers, policymakers, diplomats, security and political experts from Israel and the Palestinian Authority, academics, activists and public representatives.
The conference aims to explore the series of failures laid bare by the events of the past year. The events transpired under a far-right government, whose leaders refuse to take responsibility for their failures. But the events also exposed a weakness on the left, who – aside for inspiring political ideas – has not proposed a solution that would allay Israeli's security concerns.