German opposition leader urges Israel to stop settlement building

German Social Democratic (SPD) leader Sigmar Gabriel called on the Zionist regime to halt its settlement construction in the occupied territories, according to a newspaper report set to hit the newsstands on Thursday. Speaking to the Dusseldorf-based daily Rheinischen Post, Gabriel stressed German and European support for the illegal Jewish state had been massively affected as a result of Tel Aviv's ongoing settlement policy. One of three front-runners for the German chancellor's post, Gabriel made clear a settlement construction stop should be seen by Israel as complying with international law. Berlin has time and again demanded an end to all settlement activity, saying it threatened a negotiated solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Regarded usually as a die-hard supporter of the Zionist regime, the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel has openly questioned whether the illegal Jewish state was even interested in having peace with the Palestinian side amid the ongoing Jewish settlement expansion.