Brussels, 11/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - During the evening of Friday 8 May, the European Union raised its tone against Israel, which on 6 May gave its agreement to the construction of 900 new housing units in the Ramat Shlomo settlement, in East Jerusalem (see EUROPE 11311). The EU believes this calls into question Israel's desire for a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
“Israel's determination to continue its settlement policy despite the urging of the international community, not only threatens the viability of the two state solution but also seriously calls into question its commitment to a negotiated agreement with the Palestinians”, said the spokesperson for High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini in a press release.
“Settlements are illegal under international law”, Mogherin's spokesperson reiterated once again, stating that the EU and its member states are committed to ensuring continued, full and effective implementation of existing EU legislation and bilateral arrangements applicable to settlements. The EU does not recognise the settlements as being part of the state of Israel.
The EU's foreign ministers had previously expressed their concerns about the announcement of new housing units during the Council on 17 November 2014, and had called on Israel to reverse that decision. At that time, they had said that “recent settlement activity in East Jerusalem seriously jeopardises the possibility of Jerusalem serving as the future capital of both states” (see EUROPE 11199). (Camille-Cerise Gessant)