The European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN) condemned the Israel occupation’s approval of the construction of over 4,400 housing units in the colonial settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The EU in a statement issued by the High Representative urged the Israeli occupation to reverse such decisions, which run counter to international law; directly threaten the two-state solution; and are completely inconsistent with efforts to lower tensions.
The EU called on both parties to work on ways to prepare the ground for the necessary resumption of a political process without which there will be no real peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
Meanwhile, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, said in a press statement, “I condemn today’s decision by Israeli authorities to advance plans for over 4000 housing units in settlements in the occupied West Bank. These include the retroactive approval of two illegal outposts and a park.”
“Continued settlement expansion further entrenches the occupation, encroaches upon Palestinian land and natural resources, and hampers the free movement of the Palestinian population,” the statement added.
Wennesland reiterated that “all settlements are illegal under international law and constitute a major obstacle to peace.”
He urged the Israeli occupation authorities to “cease the advancement of all settlement activity and refrain from such unilateral and provocative actions that fuel instability and undermine the prospects for establishing a viable and contiguous Palestinian State as part of a negotiated two-State solution on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements.”
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