"I am deeply concerned about the developments in the Palestinian territories. In my phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, I clearly stated: there must be no de facto annexation of the West Bank," Merz wrote on Twitter. Merz called on Netanyahu to end the fighting in southern Lebanon and begin direct peace negotiations with the Lebanese government, a spokesperson announced. The spokesperson noted that Merz offered Germany's continued support for efforts to achieve a diplomatic understanding between the United States and Iran in the war initiated by Israel and the U.S. on February 28. Merz initially welcomed the U.S.-Israeli attacks but later grew concerned as the potential global economic consequences became more serious, and Iranian retaliatory strikes on Gulf states threatened to turn the conflict into a regional war. On Monday, Merz told Netanyahu that Germany is ready to contribute to ensuring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, but only after hostilities cease and provided the necessary conditions are met, according to a summary of the conversation shared by the spokesperson. In response, right-wing Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply attacked the German leader, stating: "You will not force us into ghettos again." "Ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the German chancellor should bow his head and apologize a thousand times on behalf of Germany, instead of daring to give us moral lessons on how to deal with the Nazis of our generation. We will not accept instructions from hypocritical leaders in Europe, a continent that is once again losing its conscience and ability to distinguish between good and evil. Mr. Chancellor, the days when Germans dictated to Jews where they could or could not live are over and will not return. You will not force us into ghettos again, certainly not in our own country," Smotrich wrote. In recent weeks, Israel has intensified activities to approve the construction of new illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.