Brussels, 7 Muharram 1438/8 October 2016 (MINA) -The European Union (EU) on Friday expressed deep concern over Israel’s plans to construct 98 new housing units in the northern West Bank.
“The retroactive authorization of nearby illegal outposts or redrawing of local settlement boundaries contradicts previous public statements by the Government of Israel that it had no intention of creating new settlements,” the EU statement said, The Palestinian Information Center (PIC) reported.
“The decision to continue settlement building and expansion goes directly against the recommendations of the Quartet Report, weakens rather than strengthens the prospects for a two-state solution to the Middle East peace process, and makes the possibility of a viable Palestinian state more remote,” the statement added.
On September 23, the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators declared it was strongly opposed to Israel’s ongoing settlement activity, warning that it risked ending the chance of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
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The move has threatened to further separate the West Bank districts of Ramallah and Nablus while disrupting any possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state, according to the statement. Settlements are illegal under international law, it emphasized, calling into question Israel’s commitment towards reaching a negotiated agreement with the Palestinians.
The EU statement came just two days after the White House and Department of State released scathing criticisms of the recent settlement plans, with the Deputy Department Spokesperson Mark Toner calling the move another step toward a “one-state reality of perpetual occupation.”
On October 2, Israel’s Civil Administration approved the construction of 98 housing units for a new settlement to be located east of the already established settlement of Shiloh, on lands of the Palestinian village of Jalud in the northern West Bank district of Nablus.(T/P008/R04)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
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