Germany on Friday called on the Israeli government to stop settlement construction in the West Bank after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said work would start on a plan for thousands of homes in the E1 expansion of Ma’ale Adumim that would make it much more difficult to create a Palestinian state.
Germany “firmly rejects the Israeli government’s announcements regarding the approval of thousands of new housing units in Israeli settlements in the West Bank,” said a foreign ministry spokesperson in a statement.
Plans for the “E1” settlement and the expansion of Ma’ale Adumim would further restrict the mobility of the Palestinian population in the West Bank by splitting it in half and cutting the area off from east Jerusalem, the spokesperson said.
Smotrich announced on Thursday that work would start on the long-delayed expansion, a move that his office said would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.
Germany tells Israel to stop building of E1 settlement
In a statement, his spokesperson said the minister had approved the plan to build 3,401 houses in E1.
Germany has repeatedly warned the Israeli government to stop settlement construction in the West Bank, which violates international law and UN Security Council resolutions.
Such moves complicate steps towards a negotiated two-state solution and end to Israeli occupation of the West Bank, said the spokesperson.