The European Union (EU) on Tuesday denounced Israeli plans to build thousands of new housing units as well as opening settlement roads in the occupied West Bank and stressed that all settlement activities are illegal under international law.
“In October 2019, Israeli authorities approved the advancement of well over 2.000 housing units in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank,” said an EU spokesperson in a statement. “The European Union's position on Israeli settlement policy in the occupied Palestinian territory is clear and remains unchanged: all settlement activity is illegal under international law and it erodes the viability of the two-state solution and the prospects for a lasting peace, as reaffirmed by UN Security Council Resolution 2334.”
The spokesperson also stressed that construction of separate roads for settlers and Palestinians entrenches fragmentation of the West Bank.
“Israeli authorities also approved a building permit for the construction of a new tunnel road, which bypasses Bethlehem to the west. The progressive construction of a separate road network, connecting settlements and outposts to each other and to the road network in Israel while circumventing Palestinian towns and communities, is entrenching the fragmentation of the West Bank.”
The EU called on Israel “to end all settlement activity, in line with its obligations as an occupying power.”
It said that it “will continue to support a resumption of a meaningful process towards a negotiated two-state solution, the only realistic and viable way to fulfill the legitimate aspirations of both parties.”
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