Published November 25,2024
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Germany on Monday condemned latest statements by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calling for annexation of the occupied West Bank.
“You know that we condemn such statements because the annexation, which is illegal, would also prevent a two-state solution,” deputy Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christian Wagner advised journalists in Berlin.
The far-right minister, defying worldwide legislation, declared earlier this month that “the only way to remove the threat of a Palestinian state from the agenda is to apply Israeli sovereignty over the settlements in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).”
Smotrich stated that 2025 would be the yr of Israeli sovereignty within the West Bank. He stated he had instructed the Settlement Division and the Civil Administration, each below the Defense Ministry, to start preparations for the mandatory infrastructure to implement this coverage.
Preemptively anticipating objections, Smotrich stated: “Even if there are some who will protest, including from Arab states, we have already proven through the Abraham Accords that when Israel stands firm, it gains support and recognition from both the US and neighboring Arab countries.”
Later, Smotrich wrote on X “2025 – The year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.”
This isn’t the primary time Smotrich has made such feedback. In June, he confirmed stories from The New York Times that he had a “secret plan” to annex the West Bank and thwart any efforts to include it right into a future Palestinian state.
– ICC’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu
Wagner stated that Germany is trying on the determination by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to problem an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“We have noted the ICC arrest warrant. We’re looking at it. We also emphasized that international law naturally applies,” he stated.
On Friday, Germany vowed to proceed its controversial help for Israel regardless of the ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Gallant.
Asked at a press briefing in Berlin whether or not Germany would proceed to again Israel, authorities spokesman Steffen Hebestreit replied: “Our stance remains unchanged.”
The German authorities has been a staunch supporter of Israel with Chancellor Olaf Scholz repeatedly emphasizing Germany’s particular duty for Israel’s safety because of the nation’s Nazi previous.
Berlin resumed controversial arms deliveries to Israel in October, regardless of worldwide considerations a few genocidal navy marketing campaign within the Gaza Strip.
The German authorities spokesperson stated whereas his nation typically helps the ICC, it has not but determined whether or not it might really implement the arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Gallant, ought to they enter German soil.
He additionally pointed to Germany’s “unique relationship and great responsibility toward Israel” as a consequence of German historical past, suggesting this may issue into any decision-making course of.
On Thursday, the Hague-based court docket introduced the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant “for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024,” when ICC prosecutor Karim Khan sought the warrants.
In doing so, it additionally unanimously rejected Israel’s challenges to jurisdiction below articles 18 and 19 of the Rome Statute.
The court docket stated it “found reasonable grounds” to consider that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”
The warrants got here as Israel’s genocidal offensive within the Gaza Strip not too long ago entered its second yr, having already killed greater than 44,000 Palestinians, most of them ladies and youngsters.
The Israeli onslaught has displaced virtually your entire inhabitants of the territory amid an ongoing and deliberate blockade that has led to extreme shortages of meals, clear water and drugs, pushing the inhabitants to the brink of hunger.
Source: www.anews.com.tr