Israeli Foreign Ministry lashes out at German ambassador over X post

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar reacted sharply on Monday to a social media post by Germany's ambassador to Israel, with the ministry accusing Steffen Seibert of lacking empathy for Israel.

Seibert had posted on X about a day of "outrage and sadness" on Sunday, referring to an Israeli farmer killed in a Hezbollah attack and hundreds injured by Iranian missiles.

But the post also mentions a "parallel reality" of "violent settler rampage in Palestinian villages," following the death of a settler.

In response, Saar wrote on X: "Ambassador Seibert finds it very difficult to condemn attacks against Israelis without bringing up the Palestinians."

"Good to know that a new ambassador will soon arrive - one who will strengthen Israel-Germany relations," Saar added.

Seibert's criticism of the settler violence led Saar to charge that "his obsession with Jews living in Judea and Samaria prevents him from even condemning the death of a Jew caused by a Palestinian."

The Israeli government refers to areas of the West Bank as Judea and Samaria.

In a response to Saar's post, Seibert stressed that Germany stood by Israel in the ongoing war against Iran.

"I have publicly condemned Iran's random targeting of Israeli civilians and the criminal use of cluster bombs," Seibert wrote.

"Settler violence also concerns us greatly, as it does the Israeli President and other leaders," the ambassador added.

Last month, German ambassador to Moscow Alexander Graf Lambsdorff confirmed that he had been asked to succeed Seibert, without giving a date. The move has not yet been confirmed by the German Foreign Ministry.

Israel seized the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967. Some 700,000 Israeli settlers now live there, alongside 3 million Palestinians. The Palestinians claim the territories for their own state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel led by the militant Islamist Hamas organization, violence by extremist settlers against Palestinians has increased significantly.