AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The European Union has condemned the latest Israeli plans to construct over 1,200 new settler units in occupied al-Quds, saying the Tel Aviv regime’s settlement expansion activities prevent resumption of meaningful negotiations between Palestinians and Israel.
“I am deeply worried by the Israeli authorities’ decision to open the bidding process for the construction of housing units for an entirely new settlement at Givat Hamatos,” EU Foreign Policy Chief, Josep Borrell, said in a statement released on Sunday.
“This is a key location between al-Quds and Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. Any settlement construction will cause serious damage to the prospects for a viable and contiguous Palestinian State and, more broadly, to the possibility of a negotiated two-state solution in line with the internationally agreed parameters,” he added.
Borrell further noted that Israeli settlements are illegal under the international law.
“The EU has repeatedly called on Israel to end all settlement activity, and to dismantle outposts erected since March 2001. It remains the EU’s firm position that settlements are illegal under international law,” the top EU official pointed out.
“Israel should, instead, show vision and responsibility and reverse these negative decisions at this critical and sensitive time,” the statement concluded.
‘New Israeli settlement plan undermines efforts to establish Palestinian state'
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has criticized Israel’s recent settlement construction plan, saying the move is meant to undermine the so-called two-state solution to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“This is a heavy blow to the principle of the [so-called] two-state solution, and to the opportunities seeking its implementation. The Israeli plan undermines the opportunity to establish a viable, geographically connected and sovereign Palestinian state,” the ministry said.
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EU slams Israeli plans to construct new settler units in occupied al-Quds
The European Union has condemned the latest Israeli plans to construct over 1,200 new settler units in occupied al-Quds, saying the Tel Aviv regime’s settlement expansion activities prevent resumption of meaningful negotiations between Palestinians and Israel.
“I am deeply worried by the Israeli authorities’ decision to open the bidding process for the construction of housing units for an entirely new settlement at Givat Hamatos,” EU Foreign Policy Chief, Josep Borrell, said in a statement released on Sunday.
“This is a key location between al-Quds and Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. Any settlement construction will cause serious damage to the prospects for a viable and contiguous Palestinian State and, more broadly, to the possibility of a negotiated two-state solution in line with the internationally agreed parameters,” he added.
Borrell further noted that Israeli settlements are illegal under the international law.
“The EU has repeatedly called on Israel to end all settlement activity, and to dismantle outposts erected since March 2001. It remains the EU’s firm position that settlements are illegal under international law,” the top EU official pointed out.
“Israel should, instead, show vision and responsibility and reverse these negative decisions at this critical and sensitive time,” the statement concluded.
‘New Israeli settlement plan undermines efforts to establish Palestinian state'
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has criticized Israel’s recent settlement construction plan, saying the move is meant to undermine the so-called two-state solution to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“This is a heavy blow to the principle of the [so-called] two-state solution, and to the opportunities seeking its implementation. The Israeli plan undermines the opportunity to establish a viable, geographically connected and sovereign Palestinian state,” the ministry said.