OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Germany and its European partners have "serious concerns" over Israel's plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in Jerusalem Wednesday.
The first high-level European visitor to Israel since the coronavirus pandemic hit, Maas brought a message of disquiet from Berlin and elsewhere in the EU.
Speaking in Jerusalem, he expressed "our honest and serious concerns... about the possible consequences of such a step".
Israel intends to annex West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley, as proposed by US President Donald Trump, with initial steps slated to begin from July 1, the same day Germany takes the rotating EU presidency.
"Together with the European Union, we believe that annexation would not be compatible with international law," Maas told a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi, calling instead for the resumption of talks toward a two-state solution.
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