Germany tells Israeli government to stop West Bank settlement construction
Germany "firmly rejects the Israeli government's announcements regarding the approval of thousands of new housing units in Israeli settlements in the West Bank," said a foreign ministry spokesperson in a statement.
Plans for the "E1" settlement and the expansion of Maale Adumim would further restrict the mobility of the Palestinian population in the West Bank by splitting it in half and cutting the area off from East Jerusalem, said the spokesperson.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Thursday that work would start on the long-delayed settlement, a move that his office said would "bury" the idea of a Palestinian state.
In a statement, Smotrich's spokesperson said the minister had approved the plan to build 3,401 houses for Israeli settlers between an existing settlement in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Germany has repeatedly warned the Israeli government to stop settlement construction in the West Bank, which violates international law and U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Such moves complicate steps towards a negotiated two-state solution and end to Israeli occupation of the West Bank, said the spokesperson.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
British troops would fight back against Russia if attacked in Ukraine
British troops would fight back if they were attacked by Russian forces while enforcing a peace deal in Ukraine, the Defence Secretary has suggested. The UK, along with France and Germany, is spearheading a 'coalition of the willing' made up of dozens of nations, which is planning to deploy a peacekeeping force to Ukraine following a potential cessation of hostilities. John Healey has said 'any British forces have the right to defend themselves, if attacked'. Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, announced in February this year that he was 'ready and willing' to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine to maintain peace. But major questions remain unanswered about the precise role UK military personnel could play and how they would respond to Russia potentially breaching the terms of a deal. Mr Healey was asked during an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday what in practical terms the Government meant when it said Britain would help to guarantee peace in Ukraine. The Cabinet minister said: 'It means that we, as the Prime Minister has said, in the circumstances of a ceasefire we are ready to put UK boots on the ground in Ukraine. 'That is, in part, to reassure Ukrainians but it is also in part to secure the safe skies, safe seas and to build the strength of the Ukrainian forces. 'Because in the end the best, the strongest deterrent against Russia re-invading or regrouping and relaunching their aggression against Ukraine is the strength of Ukraine to stand for itself, to defeat and deter and to defend itself.' Mr Healey was asked directly if British troops in Ukraine would stand and fight or leave if they were attacked by Russia. He replied: 'Those are hypotheticals I am really not going to discuss and can't discuss at this point. But there are a couple of important principles. 'First of all, that any British forces have the right to defend themselves, if attacked.' The Coalition of the Willing has set out three main priorities for a potential peacekeeping force. It would seek to regenerate Ukraine's land forces by providing Kyiv with logistic, armament and training experts, secure Ukraine's skies using Coalition aircraft and to support safer seas by helping with the clearing of mines. Sir Keir co-chaired a virtual meeting of the Coalition earlier this week, along with Emmanuel Macron, the French president, and Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor. The meeting took place just days before Donald Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska. A statement from the Coalition leaders said that they 'welcomed president Trump's efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine, end Russia's war of aggression, and achieve just and lasting peace'.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
No construction timeline set for Cygnet bridge in Peterborough
The construction timeline of an £8.3m bridge in a city has yet to be secured as final designs await approval by council Bridge, which will link Fletton Quays to the Embankment in Peterborough, was approved by Peterborough City Council on 23 December. The project was initially expected to cost £6.3m, but will cost £2m more due to changes to the design and necessary sewage diversions. Nick Thulbourn, a Labour councillor at the authority and cabinet member for growth and regeneration, said: "Our officers are meeting with representatives from M Group to discuss Cygnet Bridge. "As part of this they will be signing off the construction design, to allow for a detailed update on the build timeline."Thulbourn confirmed that the next stage of the project would see sewer diversion works take place, with the aim to start construction in living in the city raised concerns over the cost and need for the bridge earlier this year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. Peterborough City Council hopes the new bridge will assist in creating a "walkable, liveable city" and reduce pressure on city centre traffic project is being funded in part by contributions from both the city council and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA).An extra £2m provided by the CPCA was deemed necessary for the project due to complex design modifications and higher costs for required sewer diversions than initially government's Towns Fund pledged £2m towards the bridge, while the CPCA will now contribute £5.4m and the remainder will be paid for by Peterborough City Council's redevelopment budget. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Far-right Israeli minister pays surprise visit to jailed Palestinian leader
TEL AVIV, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Israel's far-right national security minister visited prominent Palestinian Marwan Barghouti in jail and told him "you will not win", a video showed on Friday, a day after another hardline cabinet member vowed to "bury" the idea of a Palestinian state. Security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir shared the video on his X account, also telling Barghouti - a potential unifying figure among Palestinians who has been jailed for more than two decades - that anyone who threatens Israel would be eliminated. The prison visit took place earlier this week but became public after ultra-nationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Thursday work would start on a settlement that would cut off East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as a capital for a future state, from the rest of the West Bank. Smotrich's office said the move would "bury" the idea of a Palestinian state. In the video clip on X which showed Barghouti looking thin and weak, Ben Gvir said: "You will not win. Anyone who messes with the people of Israel, anyone who murders our children, anyone who murders our women - we will wipe him out." "You have to know this, throughout history," he said. The Israeli prime minister's office and a spokesman for Ben-Gvir did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Palestinian Authority described the comments as a "direct threat" to the 66-year-old. Barghouti is a senior member of the Fatah movement that runs the authority, which exercises limited civic rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns in the strongest terms the storming of the solitary confinement sections of Rimon Prison by extremist Minister Ben-Gvir and his direct threat to brother and leader Marwan Barghouti," it said in a statement. Barghouti was sentenced in 2004 to five life sentences and 40 years in jail after a court convicted him of orchestrating ambushes and suicide attacks on Israelis during the second Palestinian Intifada, or uprising. Barghouti, a leading Palestinian activist, has always denied the charges against him. His wife addressed him in a post on Facebook. "They are still, Marwan, chasing you and pursuing you, even in the solitary cell you've been living in for two years," she said of the visit, which Israeli media said took place this week. Supporters of Barghouti say he is a top contender to succeed 89-year-old Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian president one day, portraying him as a Nelson Mandela-like figure who could galvanise and reunite their divided political landscape. A poll by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research published on May 6 showed he would secure 50% of the vote on a likely turnout of 64% in a three-way presidential race against Abbas and prominent Hamas official Khaled Meshaal. Elections for the Palestinian Authority presidency have not been held since 2005. Most world powers support the idea of a two-state solution to the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict, with an independent Palestinian state encompassing the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem existing alongside Israel. That prospect is receding under the most far-right government in Israel's history and a West Bank leadership discredited among Palestinians for failing to halt the spread of Jewish settlements that are ruled illegal by the United Nations.
