Merkel chides Israel over illegal settlements

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 the acting PA head Mahmoud Abbas in Berlin on Tuesday, Merkel also expressed concerns over the stalemate in the Middle East negotiations. 

“I am critical of the settlement policy,” Merkel said, adding she had conveyed her concern to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I have expressed my mind critically to the Israeli Prime Minister many times that ... these settlement activities are counterproductive,” she said.

Abbas, for his part, stressed that Israel’s “housing development is the biggest problem for the attainment of freedom.”

He also met with German President Joachim Gauck and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier as part of his international tour to secure support for a UN vote to officially condemn the Israeli settlement policy.