German top diplomat warns Israel not to annex West Bank

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has issued a stern warning to Israel not to annex the West Bank, during a visit to the Palestinian territory on Friday.

Wadephul also strongly condemned the increasing violence by Jewish settlers against the Palestinian population.

After a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, the conservative politician emphasized, "We support the right of the Palestinians to have their own state at the end of a political process."

Wadephul said that Germany is ready to actively support the reconstruction process after the end of the Gaza war. For this, he said, a renewal of the democratic legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority is necessary.

However, the authority must not be financially starved. Wadephul called on the Israeli government to transfer withheld tax revenues, which rightfully belong to the Palestinians, to the authority.

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas should not play a political role in a future Palestinian state, he added.

The source of concerns about annexation are statements by Israeli politicians and a recently passed resolution by the parliament. In it, the right-wing religious government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is urged to extend the "sovereignty" of the state of Israel to all Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

"We clearly reject any annexation fantasies, whether for Gaza or the West Bank, which are also brought forward by parts of the Israeli government," Wadephul said. "They would not be recognized by Germany."


Wadephul sharply condemned violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, as he visited the village of Taybeh earlier in the day.

"Such acts are crimes, they are terror and they finally need to be prosecuted," Wadephul said, adding his visit to the West Bank community was "a sign of solidarity with all people suffering under settler violence."

Taybeh has been repeatedly attacked by Israeli settlers over the past few months, amid a surge in violence directed at Palestinian communities in the occupied territories since the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.

"As an occupying power and a constitutional state, Israel must enforce security and order and prosecute offences," said Wadephul.

"It must protect the Palestinian population from these offenders," he urged, adding that Berlin is in favour of imposing further sanctions on violent settlers at EU level.

The situation in the West Bank has significantly worsened since the start of the Gaza war. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 960 Palestinians have been killed there in Israeli military operations, armed clashes and attacks by extremists.

Germany is set to provide another €5 million ($5.7 million) in aid for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, Wadephul said at the start of the second day of his visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories on Friday.

Wadephul said the money would go to the UN's World Food Programme to be used primarily for "bakeries and soup kitchens to provide the people of Gaza with bread and hot meals in the medium term."

Berlin also plans to fund a field hospital run by the Order of Malta to provide urgently needed basic health care in Gaza City, the minister added.

Wadephul called on the Israeli government to quickly resume close cooperation with the United Nations and its organizations on the ground to improve the distribution of humanitarian aid in the embattled Gaza Strip.

UN staff had "clearly shown that they are able to provide sufficient supplies to all people in Gaza if they are allowed to do so and if they can work in safety," he said.

According to the German Foreign Office, German humanitarian aid for the Palestinian Territories has totalled more than €330 million since the start of the fighting in Gaza in October 2023.

More than 95% of the money is used for the population in the Gaza Strip, it said. Most recently, aid was increased by up to nearly €31 million in May.

German military aircraft have begun dropping aid over the Gaza Strip, the Defence Ministry said on Friday, as Berlin joins international efforts to relieve the dire humanitarian situation there.

The transport aircraft dropped 34 pallets containing almost 14 metric tons of food and medical supplies, the ministry said.

The air drops come amid outrage over the deteriorating conditions in Gaza, which the United Nations has warned is on the brink of famine.