On Thursday 11 January, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS) called on the Israeli authorities once again to reverse their decisions on promoting the construction of over 1,000 settlement units and on launching calls for tenders for over 800 other units throughout the West Bank.
"The EU expects the Israeli authorities to reconsider and reverse these decisions", the spokesperson said in a press release, also saying that if these decisions were implemented they "would further jeopardise the prospect of a contiguous and viable future Palestinian state". As has been the case with each new announcement of settlement projects in Israel, the EEAS states that settlement construction and related activities "is illegal under international law, and (...) undermines the viability of the two-state solution and the prospects for a lasting peace".
The EU will continue to engage with both parties and with its international and regional partners, and with Arab countries, "to support a resumption of a meaningful process towards a negotiated two-state solution, the only realistic and viable way to fulfil the legitimate aspirations of both parties", the spokesperson said.
These announcements about the construction of new settlements come at a time when the statements of US President Donald Trump on Jerusalem as the capital of Israel have revived the tension in the Middle East (see EUROPE 11926). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)