UPDATE WITH CHANGING HEADLINE, LEDE, ADD SPAIN'S REMARK
By Necva Tastan
ISTANBUL (AA) – Germany and Spain on Sunday condemned Israel's decision to seize 800 hectares of land belonging to the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank's Jordan Valley region.
"We strongly condemn the announcement to confiscate over 800 hectares of land in the Palestinian Territories as Israeli "state land". This would be the largest appropriation in over 30 years," Germany's Foreign Ministry said on X.
"The settlements violate international law & fuel further tensions in this extremely fragile situation," it added.
Spain's coalition government also "strongly condemned" Israel's decision to annex parts of the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley.
"The government firmly condemns Israeli Minister Bezalel Smotrich's announcement of the confiscation of lands within the occupied Palestinian territories," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website.
"This announcement, manifestly against international law, aggravates the regional conflict and makes international efforts to move towards a ceasefire more difficult. Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories constitute a breach of international law and are an obstacle to peace," it stressed.
According to the news on Israel's state television channel KAN, the Israeli government reportedly seized 800 hectares of land in the Jordan Valley region of the occupied West Bank, claiming it as "state land."
It was stated that the seized land could be used for the construction of illegal Jewish settlements.