Amman, Feb 11 (Petra) - Germany criticized Israel’s plans to tighten control over the occupied West Bank as "an additional step toward de facto annexation," amid rising international concern over the move.

The German Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Israel remains the occupying power in the West Bank.

It added, "As an occupying power, its settlement activity constitutes a violation of international law, including the transfer of certain administrative functions to Israeli civil authorities." Meanwhile, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Reem Alabali-Radovan expressed deep concern over recent Israeli decisions related to West Bank land laws, warning that they could hinder Germany’s support for West Bank residents and obstruct any prospects for a lasting and peaceful resolution of the Middle East conflict.

According to Deutsche Welle, Minister Radovan stated in a press release on Tuesday that the recent Israeli government decisions on West Bank land laws "close the path to a permanent and peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict." She emphasized that these policies effectively lead to the displacement of Palestinians from their lands through "further illegal land seizures," worsening humanitarian conditions, complicating the political landscape, and threatening peace prospects while undermining the two-state solution.

The minister also warned that the new policies put German development projects supporting Palestinians at risk.

//Petra// AF