Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul in the Palestinian Territories: Constructive approaches to conflict resolution

The visit of Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul in Gaza was the first high-ranking visit of a German delegation since the "Gaza Flotilla" in 2010.

The counseling visit of Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, member of the German parliament and former federal minister, under the general topic of “Israel and Palestine: Incentives for constructive conflict resolution” took place in Israel and Palestine in October 2011. Therefore the programme concentrated mainly on meetings with high-ranking political and economic partners, as well as representatives of International Organizations. It led to a profound and far reaching exchange of ideas. Thereby the question of full UN-membership for Palestine was a recurrent theme in the informative and constructive talks.
The motion, which was brought into the UN Security Council by Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in September, is requesting the membership of Palestine as the 194th state of the United Nations. With this step, the Palestinian leadership attempts a shift of the diplomatic efforts to a multilateral level after years of stalled peace negotiations with Israel.

Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul with Mustafa Barghouti of Al-Mubadara, a longtime partner of FES, discussing the shape of the current political situation in the Palestinian Territories as well as the cooperation of the German SPD with its SI-sisterparty Al-Mubadara.

The three-day programme of Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul commenced with a meeting in Gaza that attached particular importance to the counseling visit: The visit in Gaza was the first high-ranking visit of a German delegation since the “Gaza Flotilla” in 2010. Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul met with Issam Younis, head of the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, in the still largely isolated coastal strip. They mainly exchanged views about the perception of the humanitarian condition in the coastal strip in the German political public.
At her visits in Gaza as well as in Hebron, the second stop of her stay, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul was able to form a vivid impression of the difficult circumstances in the Palestinian Territories. Both cities are considered seriously conflictive and difficult, and the critical condition of the Palestinian people was made clear in both places, albeit in different ways. Within the scope of several meetings, the condition of Fatah and the urgently needed party reform was addressed. This reform is to be seen as necessary in order to perform successful participation in future elections. With regard to the incomplete programme and the structural problems within the party of Fatah, the election victory of Hamas in 2006 was interpreted by many not as a victory for Hamas but as a defeat for Fatah. Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul therefore emphasized the necessity of a party reform and made clear that Fatah can count on the support and expertise of the SPD. The day was completed at a dinner with Mustafa Barghouti of Al-Mubadara, a longtime partner of FES, where the shape of the current political situation in the Palestinian Territories as well as the cooperation of the German SPD with its SI-sisterparty Al-Mubadara were discussed.

Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul with Britta Lenz, Christoph Dinkelacker, Rinske Reiding and Cheb Kemmerer of the Willy-Brandt-Center (left to right).

Within the frame of her counseling visit, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul met Fatah's Deputy Commissioner of Foreign Relations Dr. Husam Zumlot and discussed with him the current situation of the peace process and the UN bid of the Palestinians, which was seen as a “unilateral attempt” from many sides. Regarding this issue, Zumlot explained the position of Fatah, which is mainly based on the rejection of negotiations in its previous form as an “open ended process”, an internationalization of the conflict and the realization of the reconciliation agreement of Fatah and Hamas, which was announced in May 2011. Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul underlined that the UN bid cannot be seen as an alternative to failed negotiations with Israel but rather as a way to equip future negotiations with precise and internationally guaranteed frames of reference. Without such a shift in the diplomatic approach to the conflict, further success is hardly to be expected.
Wieczorek-Zeul described the array of social democratic positions concerning the controversial UN bid and highlighted the positive results that could lead to an integration of the Palestinian attempts into international forums – whether through the Security Council of the United Nations or through a vote of the UN General Assembly. She added that at the same time, a multilateral initiative is urgently needed, before the window of opportunity for the two-state-solution, which is currently still open, will close completely.

Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul met the Palestinian Prime Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad.

Following this, the exchange with the Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was equally productive. The conversation involved the prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, which had been announced the previous evening. Wieczorek-Zeul and Fayyad shared the same opinion: The prisoner exchange will increase the popularity of Hamas at a time when the popularity of the Palestinian Authority and the support for the politics of President Abbas have reached a maximum.

Concluding her trip, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul met with Filippo Grandi, the General Commissioner of the United Nations Relief Works Agency.

The main issue of the last day was the international perspective on the region. Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul met the Delegate of the Middle East Quartet in Jerusalem, Ambassador Gary Grappo, and discussed perspectives, expectations and problems of the Quarted-initiated peace process, especially in the light of the UN bid. Concluding her trip, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul met with Filippo Grandi, the General Commissioner of the United Nations Relief Works Agency.