3 days ago
EU urges Israel to ‘desist' from plan to build settlements in West Bank
The EU's top diplomat urged Israel on Thursday 'to desist' from a plan to build homes in a particularly contentious area of the occupied West Bank, which the Israeli finance minister has backed.
'The decision of Israeli authorities to advance the E1 settlement plan further undermines the two-state solution while being a breach of international law,' Kaja Kallas said in a statement.
'The EU urges Israel to desist from taking this decision forward, noting its far-reaching implications.'
Israel's finance minister backed plans on Thursday to build 3,400 homes in a particularly contentious area of the occupied West Bank, calling for the territory's annexation in response to several countries' plans to recognize a Palestinian state.
The United Nations chief warned that building Israeli homes in the area would 'put an end to' hopes for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel has long had ambitions to build on the sensitive parcel of land east of Jerusalem known as E1, but the plan has been frozen for decades amid international opposition.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, while critics and the international community have warned construction on the roughly 12 square kilometers would undermine hopes for a contiguous future Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.
The site sits between the ancient city and the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, near routes connecting the north and south of the Palestinian territory. There are also separate, frozen plans to expand Israel's separation barrier to envelop the area.
