EU REPEATEDLY SAID ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS TO BE ILLEGAL

Bethlehem, 2 Rajab 1434/12 May 2013 (MINA) – The European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Friday (10/5) expressed her concern about Israel’s approval this week of settler homes in the occupied West Bank, a statement from her office said.

“The EU has repeatedly declared settlements to be illegal under international law and to constitute an obstacle to peace,” the statement said, as Ma’an reported monitored by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).

Catherine also condemned the arrest of Jerusalem’s grand mufti on Wednesday (8/5), and condemned tensions in Jerusalem over Orthodox Easter, which saw Israeli police officers attack an Egyptian Coptic clergyman in the Old City.

“The High Representative is concerned by developments over the past week in East Jerusalem and the West Bank which have increased tensions on the ground and risk undermining current efforts to re-launch peace talks,” the statement added.

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All worshipers should have access to holy sites in Jerusalem, she said. Ma’an reported as monitored by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).

Israeli settlements in the occupied territories commonly referred to as simply Israeli settlements are the Jewish civilian communities built on lands occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and in the Golan Heights.

The settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are built either on part of the proposed Arab state, or on part of the proposed Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem. Both were originally proposed by the Plan of Partition attached to Resolution 181(II) of the General Assembly of 29 November 1947.

Settlements also existed in the Sinai and Gaza Strip until Israel evacuated the Sinai settlements following the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace agreement and unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip in 2005. Israel dismantled 18 settlements in the Sinai Peninsula in 1982, and all 21 in the Gaza Strip and 4 in the West Bank in 2005.

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The continues to both expand its settlements and settle new areas in the West Bank in spite of the Oslo Accords, which specified in article 31 that neither side would take any step that would change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the permanent status negotiations. However, Israeli settlement expansion has continued unabated.

The international community considers the settlements in occupied territory to be illegal. Israeli neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and communities in the Golan Heights, areas which have been annexed by Israel, are also considered settlements by the international community, which does not recognise Israel’s annexations of these territories. The United Nations has repeatedly upheld the view that Israel’s construction of settlements constitutes violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

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The International Court of Justice also says these settlements are illegal, and no foreign government supports Israel’s settlements. In April 2012, UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon, in response to moves by Israel to legalise Israeli outposts, reiterated that all settlement activity is illegal, and “runs contrary to Israel’s obligations under the Road Mapand repeated Quartet calls for the parties to refrain from provocations.” Similar criticism was advanced by the EU and the US.

Israel disputes the position of the international community and the legal arguments that were used to declare the settlements illegal. (T/P04/P03)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)