Merkel slams Israeli settlement policy

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has slammed Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories as "counterproductive" to the so-called two-state solution.

    In a joint press conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Berlin on Tuesday, Merkel expressed concerns over the stalemate in the Middle East negotiations, and supported President Abbas' calls to end Israeli settlements in the West Bank in order to revive stalled peace talks. "I am critical of the settlement policy," Merkel said, calling the settlements "counterproductive" in efforts to create a two-party state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

    The Chancellor urged the parties to adhere to the two-state solution, "even though it is very difficult". President Abbas also met with German President Joachim Gauck and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier as part of his international tour to secure support for a United Nations vote to officially condemn the settlement policy. 

    At the press conference with Merkel, Abbas said he was pushing for the UN resolution "in the hope that it can convince (Israeli) Prime Minister Netanyahu to end the policy and to pave the way for a two-state solution". "We don't have any other way," the Palestinian President added. 

    However, Merkel stopped short of lending Germany's support to the proposed UN resolution. She was also cautious about a proposal from France to host an international Middle East peace conference in the upcoming months, a proposal met with reticence by the Israelis.

    On Monday, Abbas won the backing of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the proposed international peace conference.

Source: QNA