German vice chancellor to address renewables, conflict on Israel trip

Berlin (dpa) – German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck departed for Israel on Monday for talks that are expected to address renewable energy sources, as well as the recent escalation of violence in the Middle East, in the first stop of his tour of the region.

Habeck, who also holds the role of minister for economic affairs and climate action, is expected to meet representatives of the Israeli government in Jerusalem for talks that focus on political and economic issues.

They are also due to address cooperation in the fields of energy, climate and technology, with a focus on renewables.

There are large natural gas fields off the Israeli coast and Germany is exploring new sources of energy. As Moscow continues to bombard Ukraine, Berlin is rapidly trying to reduce its dependence on Russian energy sources.

“We are still short of gas, if we want to become independent of Russia,” Habeck said shortly before departing, adding this was not the central issue of his trip.

There had been plans for a gas pipeline through the Mediterranean to Europe that if completed, would transport gas from Israel through Cyprus to Greece and so to the European Union.

But Habeck said exporting gas to Europe would not be straightforward in the short term due to the lack of infrastructure.

If Berlin could cooperate with neighbouring countries that have LNG terminals in the near future, “that could certainly help,” he added.

On Tuesday, Habeck is due to travel onwards to the Palestinian Territories and Jordan, where he is to join a Jordanian-German energy conference.

His trip comes amid a wave of violence that has killed dozens of people in Israel and the Palestinian Territories since March.

The killing of veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh during a military operation and Israeli police violence at her funeral have further increased regional tensions.

“In Israel and between the Palestinian territories, there is indeed enormous tension these days, many deaths, very many attacks by Palestinian terror groups in Israel, armed action by Israeli soldiers or security forces in the Palestinian territories and in Jerusalem,” Habeck said.

He said his goal was to “to bring the issue of de-escalation back on the table there a little bit, as far as Germany is able.”

“If that succeeds, it would be wonderful,” Habeck said.