Khaberni - The German Foreign Ministry called on the Israeli government to immediately stop settlement construction in the West Bank, at a time when the United Nations announced that settlement expansion has reached its highest level since 2017, while the assaults by the Israeli occupation army and settlers in the occupied West Bank continued, causing injuries among Palestinians.
The German Foreign Ministry said, "We strongly reject Israel's decision to build more than 750 new settlement units in the West Bank," considering that the settlements violate international law, Security Council resolutions, and undermine the two-state solution.
The German Foreign Ministry also confirmed its rejection of any official or de facto annexation of Palestinian territories. It emphasized that it will not recognize any changes to the borders of June 4, 1967, except by agreement of both parties.
Settlement Expansion
In related news, a United Nations report stated that settlement expansion in the West Bank has reached its highest level since at least 2017.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in a document sent to the Security Council members, said: "I condemn the continued Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which continues to fuel tensions, prevents Palestinians from accessing their lands, and threatens the viability of an independent, democratic, contiguous, and fully sovereign Palestinian state."
The United Nations announced -last Friday- that the number of Palestinians displaced since the beginning of this year has exceeded 1,000, in area "C," which constitutes about 60% of the West Bank area.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, explained that most of the displaced Palestinians had their homes demolished on the grounds of not possessing Israeli building permits, which he described as nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain.
The UN spokesperson noted that this level of displacement represents the second highest annual rate recorded since 2009.
