Germany reiterates opposition to potential Israeli resettlement of Gaza, occupied West Bank

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) – Germany on Monday reiterated its opposition to a potential Israeli resettlement of Gaza, following a recent conference in Jerusalem by far-right Jews calling for the resettlement of the besieged enclave and the occupied West Bank.

“You know what our very fundamental stance on Israel's settlement policy is. The Israeli settlements are against international law and illegal,” Foreign Ministry’s deputy spokesman Christian Wagner said at a press conference in Berlin.

“We - as the federal government - advocate for restrictive measures, such as sanctions against violent settlers on the Europe level. Discussions are still ongoing within the European Union, and a decision must be reached unanimously. We have made it very clear again and again that there will be no resettlement of Gaza with Israel,” he added.

On Jan. 29, Israeli settlers held a conference in Jerusalem to discuss the resettlement of the Gaza Strip and the construction of more settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The participants advocated for the construction of new Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories in response to the Oct. 7 attack by Gaza-based resistance group Hamas. Several Israeli government officials reportedly attended the conference.

Meanwhile, deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Buechner rejected a Nicaraguan lawsuit against Germany at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Berlin of “facilitating genocide” in Gaza.

“We believe the allegations are unjustified …,” he said.

"Nicaragua argues that by providing political, financial and military support to Israel and by defunding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), 'Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide and, in any case, has failed in its obligation to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide'," the ICJ said in a statement released on Friday.

Nicaragua requested the top UN court to issue provisional measures concerning "Germany's 'participation in the ongoing plausible genocide and serious breaches of international humanitarian law and other peremptory norms of general international law occurring in the Gaza Strip'."

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7. The ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed 30,534 people and injured 71,920 others with mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

In late 2023, South Africa filed a case before the ICJ, accusing Israel of failing to uphold its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.