Germany Tells «Israel» Not to Legalize W Bank Settlements

Local Editor

Germany urged the "Israeli" entity in unusually strong language on Wednesday to scrap legislation that would legalize Israeli settlement homes built on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, saying this would break international law.

Germany had objected in the past few years to illegal "Israeli" settlement expansion on Palestinian territories.

The apartheid "Israeli" entity's parliament gave initial approval on Monday to a revised bill on the settlement units, a move that has drawn international condemnation and follows the victory in the Nov. 8 US presidential election of Donald Trump, one of whose aides had hinted at a more tolerant US stance on settlements.

A German Foreign Ministry spokesman told a regular government news conference: "We're extremely concerned about this development," saying that "Such a bill violates international law."

He further added that the "Israeli" entity would undermine its commitment to finding a so-called "two-state solution" if the bill were passed.

Asked whether Germany and the European Union [EU] should punish the apartheid entity with economic or diplomatic sanctions, the spokesman said: "We don't think that sanctions would be the right path in this case to make headway in the Middle East peace process."

The last round of US-brokered "Israeli"-Palestinian talks collapsed in April 2014, with settlements among the key issues. "Israeli" settlements on occupied Palestinina land are considered internationally illegal.

The "Israeli" regime's Knesset voted 60-49 in favor of the amended bill on Monday. It must pass three more votes at unspecified future dates before becoming law.

"Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a gamble this week by voting for the measure, risking international censure and possibly legal action in order to appease far-right members of his coalition who had been emboldened by Trump's election.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team