Hildegarde Bentele, who is a member of Germany’s Christlich Demokratische Union (CDU), whose leader Friedrich Merz is to become the new Chancellor following the recent elections, said that the delegation for relations with Israel holds particular significance for her ‘’in light of the events of 7 October 2023.’’ ‘’Many hostages are still in the hands of the terrorist organization Hamas following the horrific attack on Israel.’’

 

German Member of the European Parliament Hildegarde Bentele has been elected as the new chair of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Israel.

48-year-old Bentele is a member of the European People’s Party t(EPP), the largest political group in the EU parliament. She succeeds Spanish MEP Antonio Lopez Isturiz-White.

Bentele will be supported by two Vice-Chairs, MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen, member of the Conservative and Reformist group from the Netherlands and MEP Dan Nica, a Socialist from Romania.

Upon her election, she declared: ‘’It is a great honour and a special responsibility to lead the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with Israel as Chair in these challenging times, and I am grateful for the trust placed in me. I am very confident that, together as a strong 18-member delegation, we will fulfil our important task of strengthening the EU-Israel partnership.’’

Bentele, who is a member of Germany’s Christlich Demokartische Union (CDU), whose leader Frederick Merz is poised to become the new Chancellor following the recent elections, said that the delegation for relations with Israel holds particular significance for her ‘’in light of the events of 7 October 2023.’’ ‘’Many hostages are still in the hands of the terrorist organization Hamas following the horrific attack on Israel.’’ ‘’I welcome the release of hostages and ceasefire deal in Gaza, agreed in January, and I stress the importance of its full implementation, to allow all the hostages to be released, and to ensure a permanent end to hostilities,’’ she added.

‘’We must focus our efforts, through parliamentary diplomacy, on promoting lasting peace and stability in the region,’’ Benetele, a former diplomat, said that the European Union’’ has long been a supporter of the Middle East peace process and the two-state solution, and now more than ever, it must follow words with actions.’’
‘’Our delegation will contribute to these efforts notably through our direct relation with the Knesset,’’ she said.

She added, ‘’We will enhance dialogue with all our Israeli partners, in the Knesset, government, and civil society, to increase our mutual understanding, to promote the democratic values, and to strengthen our partnership. We will support the efforts to overcome the crisis in the region and to increase our bilateral relations in the many areas comprised in the Association Agreement.’’

She also raised the issue of rising antisemitism, stressing ‘’loud and clear’’ that ‘’Jewish life has a firm place at the heart of our societies, and our responsibility is to ensure that Jews never have to fear for their safety again.’’