Germany on Friday sharply condemned Israeli government moves to approve settlements and legalize settlement outposts in the West Bank and called on Israel to reverse the decisions.
"The Israeli policy of settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian areas constitutes a serious violation of international law and undermines efforts towards a two-state solution," a Foreign Office spokesman said in Berlin.
"The expansion of settlements jeopardizes peace and security for all people in the region," he added. "We therefore urge the Israeli government to reverse the decisions immediately," the spokesman added.
"We see as particularly disturbing and cynical" the notion that the plan, introduced by extreme right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, was a response to the recognition of Palestine by a number of countries, he said.
A durable solution to the conflict could only be achieved with and not in opposition to a reformed Palestinian Authority (PA), the spokesman said. "We strongly reject all measures leading to a weakening of he Palestinian Authority," he added.
The Israeli security Cabinet earlier approved the legalization of five settlement outposts, along with sanctions on a number of PA representatives.
Israeli media have reported that Smotrich intends to take steps in return to release tax revenues owed to the PA amid fears in the international community that it could collapse.
The United States and its allies plan for the PA to continue to play a significant role in the Gaza Strip as well after the current war there ends. The Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement expelled the PA from the Gaza Strip by force in 2007.
Smotrich recently announced he planned to withhold PA funds and pay them out to Israeli victims of terrorism. Israel collects taxes and customs levies owed to PA under the Oslo Accords.