Germany on Friday condemned Israel’s move to regulate five communities in Judea and Samaria, part of a package of measures approved by the Cabinet in response to the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) steps against Israel.
“The federal government clearly condemns the so-called legalization of Israeli outposts and the approval of new housing. Israel's policy of building settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories constitutes a serious violation of international law and undermines efforts to achieve a two-state solution,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said at a news conference in Berlin, according to the Anadolu news agency.
“The expansion of settlements endangers the peace and security of all people in the region and we therefore call on the Israeli government to immediately reverse the decisions,” he added.
The measures approved on Thursday were proposed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and include the regulation of five localities in the young settlement: Evyatar in Samaria, Sde Ephraim in Binyamin, Givat Assaf in Binyamin, Heletz in Gush Etzion and Adorayin on Mount Hebron.
The measures also include the cancellation of permits and various benefits for senior PA officials, restricting the movement of PA senior officials and preventing them from leaving the country, enforcing their incitement offenses, expelling senior officials, withdrawing enforcement powers from the PA in the Judean Desert and enforcement actions against rampant construction in the area, enforcement in Area B against damage to heritage sites and environmental hazards, and more.
The measures came in response to the PA’s steps against Israel in the courts in The Hague, including arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as in response to European countries’ recent recognition of a Palestinian state.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)