Something unusual happened during German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul’s visit to the Middle East last week. Following his planned visit to Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Bahrain from October 29 to November 1, he decided to stop by Israel on his last day. According to reports, the governments of Jordan, Syria and Lebanon wanted him to deliver a message to Israel.

After decimating Hezbollah’s military capabilities last year, Israel agreed to a ceasefire with Lebanon in the hope that Beirut would disarm Hezbollah and eliminate the terrorist threat. This has not happened and Hezbollah is attempting to rebuild its military arsenal, so Israel has maintained troops in southern Lebanon and has continued targeted air strikes.

Lebanon is now appealing to Germany to mediate.

During a meeting with Wadephul, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said: “Lebanon is ready for negotiations to end the Israeli occupation, but any negotiation … requires mutual willingness, which is not the case.” He added that Israel “is responding to this option by carrying out more attacks against Lebanon … and intensifying tensions.”

Wadephul agreed to mediate and promised to urge Israel to withdraw troops from southern Lebanon. “Israel must withdraw,” he said. “I understand that Israel has security needs. … But in fact, we now need a process of mutual trust-building.” He also added that the Lebanese government must ensure there is “a credible, transparent and rapid process of disarming Hezbollah.”

These Arab countries consider Germany to be a trusted partner. Because Germany is a critical weapons supplier and trading partner of Israel, they believe their demands will have more weight if Germany delivers them to Israel.

Germany also wants a much bigger role in the region, and trips like this one build the necessary trust for future missions.

Another door for greater German involvement is opening through the recent Middle East peace negotiation under the leadership of United States President Donald Trump. Ahead of his trip to the Middle East, Wadephul explained:

The Middle East is at a crossroads. Following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, there is hope for lasting peace. We must continue working to implement this agreement. It took a great deal of painstaking work to reach diplomatic agreement in Cairo. All efforts must now focus on meeting people’s expectations in an entire region. …

The 20-point plan lays out the path to finally breaking the cycle of war and destruction. Germany will therefore continue to play an active role in implementing this plan.

To this end, the German government is supporting, inter alia, the U.S.-led Civil-Military Coordination Center (cmcc), including by providing staff from the Federal Foreign Office who will travel to the region this week.

During my visit to the Middle East, I want to speak with our partners about where and how Germany can actively accompany and support the next steps.

Germany has close relations with all parties involved in the conflict.

As we warned in the August 2021 Trumpet issue: “Europe is trying to break into Mideast ‘peacemaking.’ They aren’t interested in mediating. They want to take over.”

Germany may look like an altruistic peacemaker, but it has its own ambitions.

The Middle East has been a contested battleground for centuries. Everyone wants to own the Holy Land. Over the centuries, Europeans have shed much blood to make it their own. Today, however, Europe presents itself as a mediator that has no interest in Jerusalem.

The Bible exposes the deceit in this.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry explains in “The Hidden Danger in Germany’s ‘Alliance Against Iran’” that the Bible prophesies a German-led Europe will send so-called peacekeepers to Jerusalem—the armies that Jesus Christ prophesied would surround Jerusalem (Luke 21:20-21).

Parallel prophecies show that these armies of the “king of the north” (Daniel 11:40) will enter the city peacefully. Mr. Flurry explained:

Hosea 5:13 describes the Jewish state (“Judah”) asking for help from the Germans (“the Assyrian”). And Daniel 11:41 says of this European power: “He shall enter also into the glorious land”—speaking of Israel. The Hebrew for “enter” indicates a peaceful entry, not forced. The Germans will undoubtedly be invited in as a peacekeeping force—to militarily secure Jerusalem from the engulfing violence. (This is further explained in my booklet Jerusalem in Prophecy.)

For German peacekeeping forces to be invited into the city, they would have to be accepted by both Arabs and Jews. Germany is currently building this trust.

For a detailed explanation of these prophecies, read “The Hidden Danger in Germany’s ‘Alliance Against Iran.’”