Chancellor Merz confirms Germany will not recognize Palestinian state

Germany will not join partners such as Canada and France in recognizing a Palestinian state, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday after a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

"We will not join this initiative," said Merz in a joint press conference with Carney in Berlin. "We do not consider the conditions for state recognition to be fulfilled in any way at present."

Germany considers the recognition of a Palestinian state to be among the final steps in a two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians can live peacefully side by side.

In contrast, Carney announced in late July that his country would recognize Palestine as a state at the UN General Assembly in September.

French President Emmanuel Macron is also planning to do so, while Britain has threatened Israel with doing so unless certain conditions are met.

Carney justified the move by saying that the prospects for a two-state solution were getting worse and worse.

While Merz introduced a partial arms embargo on Israel in response to Israeli plans to expand the war into Gaza City, he has now confirmed that Germany will not follow his partners in recognizing Palestine, even after the United Nations declared famine has broken out in parts of Gaza.

Israel's deadly attacks continued on Monday, with at least 19 people, including five journalists, killed in a strike on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.