Germany Warns ’Israel’ over Settlement

Local Editor

"Israel's" ongoing settlement construction is damaging efforts to reach a negotiated peace agreement, visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Monday.

Berlin's top diplomat was in the Zionist entity for a 24-hour visit to discuss the talks with the Palestinian Authority. His visit was largely overshadowed by the death at the weekend of "Israel's" former prime minister Ariel Sharon who was laid to rest on Monday.

He met with "Israel's" chief negotiator Tzipi Livni early on Monday then attended Sharon's funeral before traveling to Ramallah for an evening meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
"It is clear that the continued building of settlements really hurts the process," he told reporters before his meeting with Livni, while stressing that Berlin also expected the Palestinians "to do their part."

Speaking to reporters after his talks with Abbas, Steinmeier said the ongoing direct talks, which were launched in late July, should not be "disrupted" by new settlement announcements.
Just last week, "Israel" unveiled plans to build another 1,800 new settler units in the West Bank and east al-Quds, sparking sharp criticism from Washington and Brussels.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said Ramallah was "doing everything possible" to make the process a success and urged European pressure on "Israel" over the settlements.

"We asked for Germany and the European Union to take action to end the Israeli settlement policy, which is sabotaging the peace process," he said, his remarks relayed through a translator.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team