A German Foreign Ministry spokesman called on Israel to immediately halt settlement construction in the West Bank and categorically rejected both the official and de facto annexation caused by settlement expansion.
“The Planning Commission of the Israeli Civil Administration decided on Wednesday to approve the construction of more than 750 new housing units in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The German government categorically rejects this decision,“ the German Foreign Ministry spokesman noted. He also highlighted that “almost 30,000 new housing units in settlements have been approved by 2025, which represents a new record and therefore raises serious concerns“.
“Settlement construction not only violates international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, but also hinders the achievement of a negotiated "two-state" solution to the conflict and the end of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, as required by the International Court of Justice,“ said a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry.
“The German government recognizes the changes to the borders of June 4, 1967 only to the extent that they were agreed upon by the parties to the conflict,“ concluded the German Foreign Ministry spokesman.
On October 22, the Israeli parliament approved in preliminary readings two bills to extend Israeli sovereignty over settlements in the West Bank. On July 23, the Knesset adopted a declaration calling on the Israeli government to do so. At that time, 71 out of 120 members of parliament voted in favor of the declaratory resolution, 13 against.