Germany not planning to recognise Palestinian state in short term

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany is not planning to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term and said its priority now is to make "long-overdue progress" towards a two-state solution, a German government spokesperson said on Friday.

"Israel's security is of paramount importance to the German government," said the spokesperson.

"The German government therefore has no plans to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term," he added.

Recognition of a Palestinian state would only come as one of the final steps in a two-state solution, said the spokesperson.

Palestinians have long sought to create an independent state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem through a mediated peace process.

Many accuse Israel of having destroyed Palestinian statehood prospects through increased settlement building in the West Bank and by levelling much of Gaza during the current war.

Israel rejects this.

(Reporting by Miranda Murray and Andreas Rinke, editing by Kirsti Knolle)