Germany has expressed grave concern about the Israeli government’s announced intents to build new settler units in the occupied Palestinian territories of Jerusalem and the West Bank as well as a settlement in the strategically important E1 area east of the holy city.
A German foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement last Thursday that settlement construction in E1 further separates east Jerusalem from the West Bank making the possibility of a contiguous and viable Palestinian state more difficult within the framework of a negotiated two-state solution.
Germany called on the Israeli government to refrain from proceeding with these plans and to stop violating international law through persisting in settlement expansion.
It said it would only recognize changes to the 1967 borders including those relating to Jerusalem if they were agreed upon by the Palestinian and Israeli parties through negotiations.
