EU calls on Israel to stop plans for new West Bank settlements
"The European Union has requested clarifications from Israeli authorities and conveyed the expectation that they reconsider these decisions, which are detrimental to ongoing efforts towards meaningful peace talks."
This file photo taken on October 09, 2017 shows the Israeli settlement of Abraham Avino surrounded by Palestinian houses (top) and a cemetary (bottom) in the divided city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied Wets Bank. (Archive)
Israel must halt new building plans for settler homes in the West Bank, the European Union's foreign service said in a statement on Wednesday, warning that such settlements threatened any future peace deal with the Palestinians.
"The European Union has requested clarifications from Israeli authorities and conveyed the expectation that they reconsider these decisions, which are detrimental to on-going efforts towards meaningful peace talks," the statement said.
"All settlement activity is illegal under international law, and it undermines the viability of the two-state solution and the prospect for a lasting peace."
The EU maintains that the lands Israel has "occupied" since the 1967 Middle East war – including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights – are not part of the internationally recognised borders of Israel.
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