Germany’s former envoy to Israel slams its ‘disastrous’ West Bank policy

Germany’s former ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, levels unusually sharp criticism at the Israeli government and what he labels its “disastrous” settlement policy in the West Bank in an interview released today.

Israel’s policy in the West Bank amounts to “displacement through psychological and physical violence,” he is quoted as saying by news weekly Die Zeit.

Seibert — generally a staunch supporter of the Jewish state who ended his posting a month ago — stresses that “if the very existence of Israel is threatened by a murderous attack by Hamas, by the no less murderous plans of Hezbollah, or by Iran, then we must stand by this state.”

“But that does not apply to the settlers in the Jordan Valley,” he tells Zeit. “Under international law, these are illegal settlements driven by the ideology that this land belongs solely to us — that God gave it to us.”

“The concept of ‘reason of state’ does not extend to that; it does not support a sense of superiority over another population,” he adds.

It is equally necessary, he continues, to tell the Palestinians that the right of the Israeli people to live in their own state must be respected.

“We need to make it clear what we mean when we — rightly — say that we stand by Israel,” says Seibert. But “that does not mean our support extends to every action taken by the Israeli state — for instance, the occupation, which is now entering its 60th year.”