On 4 July, the municipal authorities’ Construction and Planning Commission approved the construction of further housing units in occupied East Jerusalem, including 940 units in Pisgat Ze’ev alone. Further decisions are pending in the coming weeks, including in the East Jerusalem district of Sheikh Jarrah. We view these pending decisions with great concern.

The German Government’s stance on the illegality of settlement construction is well known. In view of the continued settlement construction, we wonder how the Israeli Government intends to enable the US Administration and other international actors to work towards resolving the decades-long conflict.

In July 2016, the Middle East Quartet noted that a one‑state reality was increasingly taking hold. Its recommendations on upholding the principles of the two‑state solution are as valid today as they were a year ago.