Germany, Oman discuss Gaza peace prospects

BERLIN

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said on Tuesday met in Oman’s capital Muscat and discussed peace prospects for Gaza.

“The talks focused on the political prospects for Gaza and the possible role of Arab countries towards a two-state solution,” Steinmeier said on Instagram.

He pointed out that Oman had “often acted as a mediator in the region,” including between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

“Fact is that Oman has played a very good mediating role in the rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia,” German news agency dpa quoted Steinmeier as saying after his talks with the Omani sultan.

“Reducing tension between these two states will certainly help reduce tensions in the region as a whole,” he stressed.

Germany has been a staunch ally of Israel in its conflict with Hamas.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also said that Israel’s security is non-negotiable, and in the current conflict with Hamas, Germany “has only one place,” and that is “firmly at the side of Israel.”

The German government’s pro-Israel stance on the Gaza war is not supported by the public, a new poll revealed last week.

The poll by the Allensbach Institute found that the majority of Germans are against taking side in the Israel-Palestine conflict, and strongly oppose providing military support to the Jewish state.