EU Slams ’Israeli’ Settling Activities

Local Editor

European Union foreign ministers sharply condemned on Monday recent "Israeli" announcements of settlement construction in East Occupied al-Quds, stating that such declarations threaten the city's future as "a capital city for two states".

"Actions which call into question stated commitments to a negotiated solution must be avoided," said the ministers in a joint statement after their meeting in Brussels.

The ministers emphasized their opposition to the Netanyahu administration's settlement enterprise in the West Bank and East al-Quds.


"The EU deeply deplores and strongly opposes the recent expropriation of land near Bethlehem, recent announcements of plans for new settlement construction, in particular in "Givat Hamatos", "Ramat Shlomo", "Har Homa" and "Ramot", as well as plans to displace Bedouins in the West."

The assembled ministers of the European Union nations also expressed their concern over mounting tensions on the ground - and the recent wave of attacks - calling on all sides to "refrain from any action that would worsen the situation by way of incitement, provocation, excessive use of force or retaliation."

"The EU calls on political leaders from all sides to work together through visible actions to de-escalate the situation," they added.

The EU initiative to specially mark products produced in the settlements was also mentioned in the statement, with the foreign ministers emphasizing that they were "committed to ensure continued, full and effective implementation of existing EU legislation and bilateral arrangements applicable to settlement products."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team