– The German government categorically rejects this approach. During the year 2025, almost 30,000 new housing units were approved, which is a new peak and therefore a reason for great concern – said the unnamed spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement in Berlin, reports Anadolia.
He added that the construction of the settlement not only violates international law and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, but also hinders the negotiated solution of two states and the end of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, as required by the ICJ (International Court of Justice).
The two-state solution refers to an independent Palestinian state that exists peacefully side by side with Israel, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected.
The spokesman called on the Israeli government “to immediately halt settlement construction and strongly rejects both formal and de facto annexation caused by settlement expansion and other measures.”
– The German government will recognize the border changes from June 4, 1967 only if the conflicting parties have agreed on them – he said.
On Wednesday, Israel approved the construction of 764 housing units in three settlements in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority responded by saying the policy was aimed at “setting the region on fire”.
On Friday, the Israeli cabinet also decided to proceed with the legalization of 19 outposts in the West Bank. Settlers built these smaller settlements out of containers and houses without permission from the Israeli government.
Netanyahu’s right-wing religious government is making steady progress with settlement expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
In 1967, Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem, among other areas, where more than 700,000 Israeli settlers now live among some three million Palestinians.
The Palestinians claim that these territories are their state. The German government calls these territories – like the Gaza Strip – “occupied territories” and does not recognize any changes to the pre-1967 borders that were not agreed upon by the parties to the conflict.
In a landmark opinion last July, the ICJ declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
