The Arab-Israeli conflict remains one of the most intractable problems in the Middle East region. It is getting even more complicated after the Trump administration decisions on Jerusalem (2017) and the Golan Heights (2019), which signaled the departure of the US from the line traditionally pursued by the Western powers. The article argues that the current situation in the region is fraught with the danger of escalating from a «smoldering» phase into a «hot» military conflict and that the settlement of the conflict is in many ways dependent on the position of Russia and the European NATO powers. In this connection, the paper focuses on the way Germany has dealt with the Arab-Israeli conflict since the beginning of the 1990s. The main method used for the consideration of the issue is event-analysis. Emphasized is the consistent support of the FRG for the creation of the independent Palestinian state. Official Bonn / Berlin has always regarded this factor as a key prerequisite for Israel’s security, stressing Germany’s special mission for that in terms of historic responsibility. Nowadays the FRG is striving to ensure that the West retains a position of solidarity in the face of unilateral decisions of the Trump administration. Analyzed is the dynamics of Germany’s policy towards Egypt and Jordan in the military domain, with Jordan playing an ever increasing role in the FRG’s foreign policy planning. Analyzed are the FRG’s efforts aimed at the settlement of the military conflict in the South of Lebanon (the so called 33-day war) between Israel and the Hezbollah movement (2006), the latter being part of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Further, the author explores the German contribution into reforming the Lebanon’s security institutions, primarily its naval forces. In this connection, attention is also paid to the military collaboration between Germany and Israel, in particular the delivery of submarines to the country. In conclusion the paper assesses the potential of the FRG’s influence on the settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the general prospects for the future of the region.
Germany; Arab-Israeli conflict; peaceful settlement; Palestine; Lebanon; the Trump factor.