Merkel criticizes Israeli settlement building plans (Roundup)

Mar 15, 2010, 15:56 GMT

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized Israel on Monday for plans to build new homes on occupied West Bank land, after holding talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in Berlin.

'We have suffered a serious blow to the question of proximity talks between the Palestinians and Israel,' Merkel said of last week's decision to approve the building of 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem.

The chancellor said she had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call that the decision could disrupt the entire Middle East peace process.

'I hope the signals from Israel are constructive in future and don't continue to be so negative that they prevent such discussions from taking place,' Merkel said, voicing unusually harsh criticism.

Hariri also expressed his concern at the developments.

'I stand here today with a concerned heart. I see very little movement in the peace process,' Hariri said, adding that he saw 'extremists strengthening their audience, every day that we fail to achieve progress.'

The best way to help Lebanon, Hariri said, was by making 'credible progress on the Palestinian track.'

'We have been - and continue to be - among the first victims of the failure to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict,' the Lebanese premier said.

'The credibility of the international community is compromised today,' Hariri warned, adding that everybody stood to lose if the issue was not resolved.

'We need to breathe life into a process that so desperately needs resuscitation,' he added.

Other issues included Iran's controversial nuclear enrichment programme, and the question of sanctions to prevent the development of nuclear weapons.

Merkel said she had made clear Germany's position that, 'we are reaching the phase where there should be sanctions against Iran, because Iran has not accepted any of our constructive offers.'

'We believe that any country that seeks peaceful nuclear power is within their right,' Hariri countered, adding that Lebanon would decide on its position together with the Arab League, once it became clear what sanctions were planned against Iran.

The leaders also discussed Germany's involvement in the United Nations' peacekeeping operation (UNIFIL) off the coast of Lebanon and addressed ways of cooperating further in the border region.

'I will advocate that we should usefully deploy UNIFIL for as long as the Lebanese government thinks this is right,' Merkel said.

The chancellor welcomed the appointment of a Lebanese cabinet minister responsible for security and economic development projects in the border region. Both leaders stressed the importance of investing in the area.

'In the end we can secure the borders but we need to make sure that the people living in the borders have jobs, healthcare, a social life,' Hariri said, welcoming German cooperation on such projects.

During his visit to Berlin, Hariri is also due to meet Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, as well as the head of the German parliament.

Germany has been active in Middle East peace moves this year, with Merkel holding talks with Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak.