A plan presented by an Israeli minister would divide the occupied West Bank and complicate efforts for a two-state solution, said a spokesperson for the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The German government calls on the Israeli government to stop the construction of regulations and will only recognize changes to the borders of June 4, 1967 which were agreed by the parties to the conflict,” the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday.
“The construction of regulations violates international law and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council,” added the spokesperson. “This complicates a solution negotiated with two states and the end of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, as required by the International Court of Justice.”
What is the new Cisjordania regulation plan?
The Minister of Israeli Far-right Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, announced on Thursday the construction plan of 3,400 dwellings in the so-called E1 area between East Jerusalem and the colony of Maale Adumim, claiming that it “buries” the possibility of an independent Palestinian state.
Construction in the E1 region is particularly controversial because it connects the main cities of West Bank in Ramallah and Bethlehem and would effectively divide Palestinian territory into the sections of the North and South, making a contiguous territory for a future invible independent state.
This decision comes in the midst of an in -depth humanitarian crisis in Gaza, motivated by the current military campaign in Israel against the Hamas militant group.
What is the international vision of the colonies of Israel in the West Bank?
Israel has taken control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. More than 700,000 settlers are now living among around 3 million Palestinians. The Palestinians claim these areas for their own state, with East Jerusalem as capital.
On Friday, the United Nations Human Rights Office described the illegal settlement plan under international law and said that they had put the Palestinians nearby in danger of forced expulsion, reported the Reuters news agency. A spokesperson for the Organization for the Rights of the United Nations said that it would be “a war crime for a power occupying to transfer its own civilian population to the territory it occupies”.
Israel rejects this interpretation, claiming that the West Bank is “disputed” rather than the occupied territory.
The chief diplomat of the European Union, Kaja Kallas, said that the plan “also undermines the solution to two states while being a violation of international law” and called on Israel “to abstain”.
“The EU reiterates its call for Israel to stop the construction of colonies,” she added.
Peace Now, an Israeli organization that follows the colonies in the West Bank, called the plan “Mortal for the future of Israel and for any chance of obtaining a peaceful solution to two states”.
Published by: Louis OOLOFSE
