Germany condemns Israeli minister’s West Bank annexation remarks

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - Germany on Monday condemned recent 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 told journalists in Berlin.

The far-right minister, defying international law, 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 said that 2025 will be the year of Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank. He said he had instructed the Settlement Division and the Civil Administration, both under the Defense Ministry, to begin preparations for the necessary infrastructure to implement this policy.

Preemptively anticipating objections, Smotrich said: “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 is not the first time Smotrich has made such comments. In June, he confirmed reports from The New York Times that he had a “secret plan” to annex the West Bank and thwart any efforts to incorporate it into a future Palestinian state.

- ICC’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu

Wagner said that Germany is looking at the decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue 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 said.

On Friday, Germany vowed to continue its controversial support for Israel despite the ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Gallant.

Asked at a press briefing in Berlin whether Germany would continue to back Israel, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit replied: “Our stance remains unchanged.”

The German government has been a staunch supporter of Israel with Chancellor Olaf Scholz repeatedly emphasizing Germany’s special responsibility for Israel’s security due to the country’s Nazi past.

Berlin resumed controversial arms deliveries to Israel in October, despite international concerns about a genocidal military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

The German government spokesperson said while his country generally supports the ICC, it has not yet decided whether it would actually implement the arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Gallant, should they enter German soil.

He also pointed to Germany's "unique relationship and great responsibility toward Israel" as a consequence of German history, suggesting this would factor into any decision-making process.

On Thursday, the Hague-based court announced 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 also unanimously rejected Israel's challenges to jurisdiction under articles 18 and 19 of the Rome Statute.

The court said it "found reasonable grounds" to believe 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 came as Israel’s genocidal offensive in the Gaza Strip recently entered its second year, having already killed more than 44,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing and deliberate blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, pushing the population to the brink of starvation.