German leader Angela Merkel has added her voice to calls to halt the building of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land.
Merkel, speaking at a joint news conference with Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, in Berlin, said it was a vital condition for relaunching the Middle East peace process.
Merkel called for a "substantial change" in Israel's Jewish settlement policy in the West Bank.
While saying the details are complex, she insisted that settlements must not hamper progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state.
Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher has more on the meeting.
