On Wednesday 18 October, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service stated that the European Union has asked Israel to reconsider its latest decisions regarding its settlement policy.
The previous day, and a few minutes after the European statement, Israel approved construction plans for at least 2,600 housing units, including around 30 in Hebron for the first time since 2002. There are also reports of building work in a new settlement, Amihai, and of preparatory work for construction in the Givat Hamatos area in East Jerusalem.
"The European Union has requested clarifications from Israeli authorities and conveyed the expectation that they reconsider these decisions, which are detrimental to on-going efforts towards meaningful peace talks", the EEAS spokesperson said in a press release. Construction work in "the sensitive area of Givat Hamatos in East Jerusalem (...) would severely jeopardise the contiguity and viability of a future Palestinian state", the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson stated that the EU's position on Israeli settlement construction and related activities, including recent evictions in East Jerusalem and plans leading to forced transfer of Bedouin communities in the West Bank, is "clear and has not changed: all settlement activity is illegal under international law, and it undermines the viability of the two-state solution and the prospect for a lasting peace". (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)