Move to ‘legalise’ outposts in Palestinian territories has shaken trust in commitment to two-state solution, says Berlin

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Germany and France have sharply questioned Israel’s commitment to the two-state solution and to peace in the aftermath of a contentious vote in the Knesset to “legalise” illegal outposts in the occupied Palestinian territories.

As two human rights groups on Wednesday launched a court challenge to the new law, Germany’s foreign ministry issued an unusually blunt statement saying its “trust in the Israeli government’s commitment to the two-state solution” had been “fundamentally shaken”.

The new law – which is opposed by even Israel’s attorney general as illegal – in effect allows Israel to grab private Palestinian land on which illegal outposts were built.

The measure sparked heavy criticism in Israel and abroad, with detractors saying it attempted to impose Israeli law on occupied land that is not sovereign Israeli territory.

The forthright remarks by Germany are doubly striking in that Berlin is usually regarded as being diplomatically close to Israel.

A German foreign ministry spokesman also highlighted recent remarks by ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government calling for the annexation of parts of the occupied Palestinian territories.

“After the puzzling remarks by several cabinet ministers who have publicly called for the annexation of parts of the West Bank, and are preparing bills for that purpose, this is now a question of credibility,” he said.

Criticism also came from France on Wednesday. France’s ambassador to Israel, Hélène Le Gal, questioned the credibility of repeated statements by Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, that he believes in the two-state solution.

Speaking on Israel’s army radio, Le Gal said the new law was taking Israel on “a path which is not leading to peace”.

Echoing the German comments, Le Gal added: “The international community is wondering if they should trust Israel when Israel is saying that [it] is ready for discussion with its neighbours, the Palestinians, and to reach an agreement on the two-state solution.”

The comments came as the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, reiterated a frequent threat that the Palestinian Authority could be “obliged” to end security cooperation with Israel in light of its recent moves around settlement approvals.

The United Nations, the European Union and the Arab League have all strongly criticised the legislation, although the new administration of the US president, Donald Trump, has remained silent.

The Israeli government has announced it plans to build approximately 6,000 Jewish settlement housing units in the West Bank, signalling a surge in planned construction since Trump was sworn in as president in January.

The questions about the commitment of Netanyahu and Israel to the two-state solution are particularly pointed coming only days before a meeting between Trump and Netanyahu in Washington on Monday, amid reports that the pair plan a statement reiterating commitment to a peace process aimed at creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Reports in the Israeli media have suggested Netanyahu plans to tell Trump he now envisages that as falling somewhat short of full statehood, instead apparently using the phrase “state minus”.

The Israeli human rights group Adalah said it and the East-Jerusalem-based Legal Aid and Human Rights Center would file a request on Wednesday afternoon to overturn the “dangerous” outposts law, which was approved by the Israeli parliament late on Monday.

“This sweeping and dangerous law permits the expropriation of vast tracts of private Palestinian land,” Adalah’s lawyer Suhad Bishara said in a statement. “It violates the property rights both of resident and refugee Palestinians.”

Israel’s attorney general has said the law is unconstitutional and could open the country up to prosecution at the international criminal court, based in The Hague.

The UN security council passed a resolution in December stating that settlements had “no legal validity” and demanding that Israel stop building in the West Bank, including annexed East Jerusalem.