German parliament to warn against annexation, but won’t threaten sanctions

The German parliament is expected to pass a resolution in a few hours calling on the government in Berlin to use its close relationship with Israel to dissuade Jerusalem from implementing its planned unilateral annexation of the parts of the West Bank.

But the non-binding motion, which will likely pass with the votes of the two major centrist parties that make up the governing coalition, rejects calls for possible sanctions against the Jewish State as unproductive.

The resolution urges Berlin to use its “special relations and contacts [to Jerusalem] to express to the Israeli government our concerns and our urgent demand to refrain from an annexation of parts of the West Bank and from the continued expansion of settlements, both of which contradict international law.”

It reiterates the German position to support a negotiated two-state solution leading to a “Jewish and democratic State of Israel in recognized and permanently secure borders and an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security.”

Unilateral annexation of parts of the West could “jeopardize Israel’s identity as a Jewish and democratic state,” the resolution warns.

— Raphael Ahren