Tal Beeri
“So far, the IDF has not struck Hezbollah's significant systems. Even if the government pursues a diplomatic agreement, it will only postpone the war that will break out whenever Hezbollah chooses and on its terms-by my estimation, no later than the end of 2026. No political or diplomatic agreement will prevent Hezbollah from continuing to operate. Any such agreement only means buying time, with Israel being the only side likely to adhere to it, while Hezbollah waits for an opportune moment to initiate a full-scale confrontation.”
15 hours ago
Benjamin Netanyahu
“If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. If we need to, we will fight with our fingernails. But we have much more than fingernails.”
22 hours ago
Sam Rose
“People are petrified. People have been fearing this for a long, long time and it is now upon us. There is constant bombardment. There is smoke on the horizon. There are people on the move. Israel is subjecting Gaza to a medieval siege in a scorched earth war. No aid has come into Gaza now since Sunday. No aid, no fuel, no supplies, nothing. And we really are now down to our last reserves. We have a few more days of flour that we can provide. But everything else will start to shut down very soon without fuel, without water. So the situation is really desperate.”
22 hours ago
Shirley Yu
“Both trade and Russia are non-negotiable for China. Macron could not achieve anything [on those fronts]. Macron shares one vision in common with Xi, which is that the US hegemony - including the quest for Europe's allegiance to the US's foreign policy - must yield to a multipolar global order by accommodating the rising powers' interests and concerns. Macron's recent visits to India and Brazil also prove that France wants to stay at the forefront of that global shift.”
22 hours ago
Jason Straziuso
“The food and water and medical supplies situation is critical and if this continues, then we move towards catastrophic, or even more catastrophic, consequences from the situation that we now see. International Committee of the Red Cross is constantly asking Israeli officials to allow access to humanitarian goods following the shutdown of the crossings. The Israeli officials know that we are desperate to bring in more supply trucks which we have waiting to cross the border as soon as they're able to. There's conversations also taking place about the need to spare civilian lives - no targeting of civilians, no targeting of civilian objects, meaning buildings, schools, medical facilities. Those talks have been happening for months.”
22 hours ago
Marwan Bishara
“Something incredibly important is happening in the world today. Israel is getting a beating around the world, while Palestine is getting a beating in the Middle East. Palestine the cause - whether it's at the United Nations or Western capitals or university campuses - is certainly gaining ground.”
23 hours ago
Tal Beeri
“So far, the IDF has not struck Hezbollah's significant systems. Even if the government pursues a diplomatic agreement, it will only postpone the war that will break out whenever Hezbollah chooses and on its terms-by my estimation, no later than the end of 2026. No political or diplomatic agreement will prevent Hezbollah from continuing to operate. Any such agreement only means buying time, with Israel being the only side likely to adhere to it, while Hezbollah waits for an opportune moment to initiate a full-scale confrontation.”
15 hours ago
Benjamin Netanyahu
“If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. If we need to, we will fight with our fingernails. But we have much more than fingernails.”
22 hours ago
Sam Rose
“People are petrified. People have been fearing this for a long, long time and it is now upon us. There is constant bombardment. There is smoke on the horizon. There are people on the move. Israel is subjecting Gaza to a medieval siege in a scorched earth war. No aid has come into Gaza now since Sunday. No aid, no fuel, no supplies, nothing. And we really are now down to our last reserves. We have a few more days of flour that we can provide. But everything else will start to shut down very soon without fuel, without water. So the situation is really desperate.”
22 hours ago
Shirley Yu
“Both trade and Russia are non-negotiable for China. Macron could not achieve anything [on those fronts]. Macron shares one vision in common with Xi, which is that the US hegemony - including the quest for Europe's allegiance to the US's foreign policy - must yield to a multipolar global order by accommodating the rising powers' interests and concerns. Macron's recent visits to India and Brazil also prove that France wants to stay at the forefront of that global shift.”
22 hours ago
Jason Straziuso
“The food and water and medical supplies situation is critical and if this continues, then we move towards catastrophic, or even more catastrophic, consequences from the situation that we now see. International Committee of the Red Cross is constantly asking Israeli officials to allow access to humanitarian goods following the shutdown of the crossings. The Israeli officials know that we are desperate to bring in more supply trucks which we have waiting to cross the border as soon as they're able to. There's conversations also taking place about the need to spare civilian lives - no targeting of civilians, no targeting of civilian objects, meaning buildings, schools, medical facilities. Those talks have been happening for months.”
22 hours ago
Marwan Bishara
“Something incredibly important is happening in the world today. Israel is getting a beating around the world, while Palestine is getting a beating in the Middle East. Palestine the cause - whether it's at the United Nations or Western capitals or university campuses - is certainly gaining ground.”
23 hours ago
“What we see in Minsk, this inhumane system of using refugees as tools to exert pressure on the European Union, has not improved but has got worse over the last days. We will toughen sanctions on individuals who are involved in this human trafficking, and we will have to talk about the fact that severe economic sanctions are inevitable ... We will have to tackle the airlines, too.”
“We will not be able to accept the continuation of this irresponsible policy without taking action. Germany is the largest bilateral supporter of Bosnia and Herzegovina. But it is clear: we cannot and will not channel German taxpayers' money into an entity that is actively working to destroy Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole state. Germany will also think about individual measures against those who question the territorial integrity of the country.”
“To schedule a show at the United Nations won't serve anything. What's important are concrete deeds and not just words, including on human rights and in particular the rights of women and on an inclusive government and distancing from terrorist groups.”
“I personally believe there is absolutely no way around having talks with the Taliban … because we absolutely cannot afford to have instability in Afghanistan. That would aid terrorism and have a huge negative impact on neighbouring countries. We are not looking at questions of formal recognition, but we want to solve the existing problems - regarding the people in Afghanistan, the German citizens, but also the local staff who want to leave the country.”
“We note, in particular with China, that the supply of vaccines was also used to make very clear political demands of various countries. In order to prevent this from happening in the first place we don't just have to criticize it, but we have to ensure that the affected countries have alternatives. Those alternative are the vaccines we have available, and which we, of course, want to make available to as many countries and regions in the world as possible. [That way] the Russians and the Chinese can't continue to conduct their difficult vaccine diplomacy in this fashion, which only has the purpose of increasing their own influence and not necessarily to save people's lives in the first instance.”
“Today we have confirmed and decided that sectoral sanctions will be taken against Belarus, which will have a severe impact on the Belarusian economy. We want the release of the political prisoners, an end to the violence against protesters and the opposition, and an inclusive dialogue that will lead to free and fair elections.”
“I know that visa liberalization is important to citizens. Germany's position is clear that Kosovo has fulfilled visa liberalization criteria and visas should be waved. The EU should keep its promise given to Kosovo and during Germany's EU Presidency it was a priority and we will remain to engage that visa liberalization to be implemented as soon as possible.”
“The time is right for continuing the normalization process -- and to achieve results. It is important not to hold this dialogue just for dialogue's sake, there must be results. Germany stands ready to help in this respect.”
“I can understand that this isn't fast enough for many, and of course I see that there are others offering vaccines and who expect favourable political conduct in return. But I am firmly convinced that despite the delay that nobody is pleased about … we can finally start delivering a large number of vaccines to the western Balkans.”
“Russia is bound by its own constitution and by international obligations to the principle of the rule of law and to the protection of civil rights. These principles must, of course, be applied to Alexei Navalny as well. He should be released immediately.”
“Journalism is not a crime but an indispensable service to society – even and especially when it looks critically and investigatively on the fingers of those in power.”
“Germany has worked hard to facilitate a dialogue between the European Union and Turkey over the past months. But there have been too many provocations, and tensions between Turkey, Cyprus and Greece have prevented any direct talks. For this reason, we will talk about what consequences we should draw – also with a view to the EU summit this week.”
“The goal of this conference is not stopping the migration. Whoever worked on it failed and mobility is part of the EU. However, we cannot close our eyes to the brain drain in the Balkans. The economy is not the only reason. Merit-based appointment and corruption are the main issues. Rule of law and good governance is a top priority.”
“We stand in solidarity with our French friends, especially in the fight against Islamic extremists. The attacks of @RTErdogan against @EmmanuelMacron are a new low and completely unacceptable. We do not accept to mix things up here. There are millions of upright citizens of Muslim faith in Germany. One must defend itself against violent Islamists and murderers. Those who equate this with racism and Islamophobia act irresponsibly.”
“Our declared goal remains to hold the first intergovernmental conference with North Macedonia during the German presidency of the Union, which is the next logical step in the country’s accession to the EU”
“The Hong Kong government’s decision to disqualify a dozen opposition candidates for the election and postpone the elections to the legislature is another infringement on the rights of the citizens of Hong Kong. We have repeatedly made our expectation clear that China lives up to its legal responsibilities under international law.”