Published November 12,2024
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Germany’s ambassador to Israel on Tuesday condemned calls by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to annex the occupied West Bank.
“The demand by Minister Smotrich to ‘apply (Israeli) sovereignty‘ over the Westbank is an open call for annexation. Any preparation to implement this goal is in full breach of international law. We strongly condemn this announcement which threatens the stability of the entire region,” Steffen Seibert wrote on X.
The far-right official, defying worldwide legislation, declared 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,” utilizing Biblical names for the West Bank.
Smotrich vowed that 2025 would be the yr for Israeli sovereignty within the West Bank. He stated he had instructed the Settlement Division and the Civil Administration, each beneath the Defense Ministry, to start preparations for the mandatory infrastructure to implement this coverage.
Later, Smotrich wrote on X: “2025 – The year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.”
In June, Smotrich confirmed reviews 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.
According to Israeli estimates, greater than 720,000 unlawful settlers stay in settlements within the West Bank, together with East Jerusalem. Under worldwide legislation, all settlements within the West Bank and East Jerusalem are thought-about unlawful.
Separately, a transparent majority (79%) of Germans are in opposition to army assist for Israel within the warfare in opposition to Hamas, based on a survey by the Hamburg-based Koerber Foundation.
Some 64% additionally consider that Germany ought to act as a mediator between Israel and Hamas.
Meanwhile, 87% of these questioned assist Germany’s humanitarian assist for the individuals within the embattled Gaza Strip, the place Israeli assaults during the last 13 months have killed over 43,000 individuals.
The US can be seen by 54% of these surveyed as a companion for Germany in Israel’s warfare on Hamas.
Source: www.anews.com.tr