Merkel affirms German backing for two-state solution

Berlin: Chancellor Angela Merkel is reiterating Germany’s long-held support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and its rejection of Israeli colonies.

Speaking ahead of talks in Berlin with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, Merkel said “I see now, as in the past, no reasonable alternative than the goal of a two-state solution.”

Merkel says the colonies are leading to an “erosion of the two-state solution.”

The possibility of a two-state solution seemed to have been weakened by US President Donald Trump’s statement in February that he could accept a single state, though he’s also left the door open to two states.