A sharp diplomatic clash erupted Monday night after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz publicly criticized Israel’s policies in Judea and Samaria, prompting a forceful response from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Merz issued a social media statement condemning what he described as a “de facto annexation” of the territory and disclosed that he had pressed Prime Minister Netanyahu to prevent such a development during a recent conversation.

“I am deeply concerned about developments in the Palestinian territories. In my phone call with Prime Minister Netanyahu, I made it clear: There must be no de facto annexation of the West Bank,” the German Chancellor wrote on social media.

The timing of the statement—just hours before Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations—triggered immediate backlash in Israel, with Smotrich, who also serves in the Defense Ministry and heads the Settlement Administration, leading the response.

“On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the German Chancellor should bow his head and apologize a thousand times on behalf of Germany,” Smotrich wrote. “He should not dare lecture us on how to deal with the Nazis of our generation – who murdered, raped, slaughtered, and burned women, the elderly, and children in the most horrific massacre committed against the Jewish people since the terrible Holocaust.”

Smotrich expanded his criticism beyond Germany, accusing European leaders more broadly of moral failure and an inability to distinguish between right and wrong.

“We will not accept instructions from hypocritical European leaders who are once again losing their conscience and their ability to tell right from wrong.”

He then addressed the historical relationship between Germany and the Jewish people, delivering a pointed message rejecting any external pressure on Israeli sovereignty.

“Mr. Chancellor, the days when Germans dictated to Jews where they are allowed to live and where they are not – are over and will never return. You will not force us back into ghettos – certainly not in our own land.”

Smotrich concluded by emphasizing the Jewish people’s return to their ancestral homeland as a definitive answer to those who have sought their destruction throughout history.

“Our return to the Land of Israel – our biblical and historic homeland – is the resounding response to all those who have tried and continue to try to destroy us. We will not apologize for it even for a moment. Am Yisrael Chai.”