Published Friday, October 3, 2014 The European Union on Friday condemned an Israeli plan to build 2,610 new illegal settler homes in annexed East Jerusalem, calling it highly detrimental to diplomatic efforts for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Brussels called on Israel to urgently reverse actions leading to settlement expansion in East Jerusalem, which both Israel and Palestine want as a future capital. This represents a further highly detrimental step that undermines prospects for a two-state solution and calls into question Israels commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement with the Palestinians, the EUs diplomatic service said. The housing units, which have been slated for construction since 2012 in the neighborhood of Givat Hamatos, were given final approval last week, according to the Peace Now watchdog. The project has also drawn sharp criticism from the United States, with President Barack Obama on Wednesday telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Washingtons deep concern over the proposed development, and from France. The EU also accused Israel of allowing further settlement expansion in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. The 28-country bloc also called on Israel to end decades of illegal settlement building in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, land which Israel seized in the 1967 war with the Arabs and on which the Palestinian want to build a future state. Israels settlement building in the occupied West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem, which is deemed illegal under international law, has caused the breakdown of several rounds of peace talks supported by the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations. The bloc said future EU-Israel relations depended on how well the Zionist state pursued a lasting peace based on a two-state solution. Egypts Foreign Ministry on Thursday denounced a decision by Israels Jerusalem municipality to approve plans to build 2610 settlement homes in occupied East Jerusalem. In a statement, the ministry termed the decision unconstructive and said it violates the international law. It also warned of the decisions negative impacts on the stalled peace process with the Palestinians. The move constitutes a major obstacle to efforts aiming to reach a final solution [to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict] based on the two- state principle. Egypt has been mediating a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Following days of indirect talks, the Palestinians and the Israelis hammered out a temporary Gaza cease-fire deal on August 26 under Egyptian mediation, following 51 days of all-out Israeli attacks on the besieged Palestinian territory. A second round of negotiations, due later this month, is now expected to focus on issues that remain unsettled from the first round of talks. These include the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and the construction of an airport and a seaport in Gaza. Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It unilaterally annexed the city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the Zionist state – a move never recognized by the international community. Palestinians accuse Israel of waging an aggressive campaign to Judaize the city with the aim of effacing its Arab and Islamic identity and ultimately driving out its Palestinian inhabitants. International law considers the West Bank and East Jerusalem occupied territories taken by Israel in 1967, viewing all Zionist settlement building as illegitimate. Palestinian negotiators insist that Israeli settlement building must stop before the resumption of stalled peace talks with Israel. (AFP, Anadolu, Al-Akhbar)
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 01:29:15 +0000
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