02/09/2016 (Agence Europe) – The spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS) said on Thursday 1 September that the Israeli decision the previous day to endorse 463 additional housing units in the “occupied West Bank” and to approve 179 existing units retroactively in the Ofarim settlement is “a serious concern”. Since the start of this year, Israeli authorities have approved or retroactively legalised 2,706 units in West Bank settlements, the spokesperson said. She stated that the Quartet report published on 1 July 2016 (see EUROPE 11585) had identified such action as undermining the prospects for peace and steadily eroding the viability of the two-state solution, and recommended that any expansion of settlements be frozen. The EU reiterates its strong opposition to Israel’s settlement policy and all action taken in this context, the spokesperson once again stated. (CG)