06/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - Ashton critical of settlement-building in East Jerusalem. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton has once again criticised Israeli settlement activities in the eastern part of Jerusalem. “I am deeply disappointed by the approval of 942 new housing units in the Israeli settlement of Gilo, East Jerusalem”, she says in a press release on 6 April. Plans for settlements on the Mount Scopus Slopes, in Har Homa C and in Pisgat Ze'ev “may further damage an already fragile political environment”, she goes on. Ashton reiterates that the EU considers that settlement activities in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are “illegal under international law”. They also undermine trust between the parties and constitute an “obstacle to peace”. (H.B./transl.rt)