A plan presented by an Israeli minister would divide the occupied West Bank and complicate efforts for a two-state solution, a German Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. "The German government calls on the Israeli government to stop settlement construction and will only recognize changes to the borders of June 4, 1967, that have been agreed upon by the parties to the conflict," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said late on Thursday. "The settlement construction violates international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions," the spokesperson added. "It complicates a negotiated two-state solution and an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, as demanded by the International Court of Justice." What is the new West Bank settlement plan? Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday announced the plan for construction of 3,400 housing units in the so-called E1 area between East Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, saying it "buries" the possibility of an independent Palestinian state. Israeli Finance Minister threatens West Bank takeover 02:24 Construction in the E1 area is especially controversial as it links the major West Bank cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem and would effectively divide the Palestinian territory into northern and southern sections, making a contiguous territory for a future independent state unviable.