Israeli gov’t’s settlement policy is “disastrous”, says former German ambassador

Former German ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, has criticized the Israeli government's settlement policy in the occupied West Bank, calling it "disastrous" and "displacement through psychological and physical violence". In an interview with DIE ZEIT, Seibert argued that the concept of "reason of state" does not extend to supporting the Israeli government's illegal settlements, which are driven by the ideology that the land belongs exclusively to Israel, as he described it.

He emphasized the importance of Palestinians respecting Israel's right to exist as a state, while also urging the German government to clarify what it means to stand by Israel. Seibert noted that Israel's occupation of the West Bank began in June 1967 and described Amnesty International's characterization of the military project as "ruthless policies of land confiscation, illegal settlement and dispossession, coupled with rampant institutionalized discrimination [...] immense suffering for Palestinians".

Since October 7, 2023, there has been a rise in settler violence in the West Bank, with around 3,800 Palestinians (almost half of them children) displaced due to settler violence, and 76 Palestinians, including 18 children, killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the occupied territory. Despite this, Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon recently dismissed suggestions that Israeli settlement projects are obstacles to peace, claiming that Israel has a biblical, historical, and legal entitlement to the West Bank.

The Israeli government's expansion plans extend beyond Palestinian territories, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently suggesting that a "final political leg" of the war could involve expanding Israel to include parts of Syria and Lebanon.