Gaza: Steinmeier’s Five-Point Plan


German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has a European plan for the Middle East.



January 22, 2009 | From theTrumpet.com
Germany wants to get more involved in the peace process.

Germany wants the European Union to take the lead in finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is working hard to make sure the initiative is not left solely to the United States, according to Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Steinmeier presented a five-point plan to EU leaders in Brussels on Monday, in which he outlined the role he thinks Europe should play in helping keep the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The plan calls for humanitarian action, the prevention of weapons smuggling, the opening of the border crossings, reconstruction within Gaza and the resumption of the peace process.

The paper raises the possibility that the EU could help police the Gaza-Israel crossing points.

Germany also wants to get involved on the Gaza-Egypt border. “The German Foreign Ministry sees Germany as being in a position to take a leading role in combating weapons smuggling as it already has an arrangement with Egypt,â€