On the evening of Wednesday 3 July, the European Union condemned plans to legalise five Israeli settlement outposts and the announcement of thousands of new housing units in the West Bank. The outposts of Evyatar, in the north of the West Bank, Sde Efraim and Givat Asaf, in the centre, and Heletz and Adorayim, in the south, should be legalised.
In a statement, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, also strongly condemned the continuation of the policies of dispossession implemented in the West Bank by the current Israeli government. Israel approved the seizure of 1,270 hectares of land and declared it to be ‘government property’. This is the largest land seizure in three decades.
“Ongoing efforts aiming at establishing facts on the ground that could lead to de facto annexation must stop”, warned Mr Borrell.
The High Representative called on Israel to reverse its recent decisions, saying that Israel’s policy of building settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories was a serious violation of international law, exacerbating tensions and undermining efforts to achieve a two-State solution.
He recalled the conclusions adopted by European leaders on Thursday 27 June (see EUROPE 13441/3), which underline the EU’s support for the Palestinian Authority and explain that actions that weaken the Palestinian Authority must stop.
In addition, while noting the latest transfers of part of the taxes and customs clearances to the Palestinian Authority and the short-term renewal of the compensation agreement, which allows the West Bank to be connected to Israeli banks and the international financial system, the High Representative stressed that customs clearances, in accordance with the Paris Protocol, should be transferred in full and without undue deductions to the Palestinian Authority in a timely manner. Israel should release the last three months of tax funds withheld from the Palestinian Authority. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)