European Union: New settlement construction seriously damaging the two-state solution

European Union: New settlement construction seriously damaging the two-state solution

European Union foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell said that the announcement by the Israeli authorities of an imminent decision regarding settlement building in Givat Hamtus and Har Homa, east of Jerusalem, would seriously harm the two-state solution .

"And as the European Union has made clear on many occasions, including in the conclusions of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Ministers of the European Union, such steps would cut off geographical and regional communication between Jerusalem and Bethlehem," Borrell said in a statement on Monday.

And Abizaid: "It also works to isolate the Palestinian communities living in these areas, and threatens the possibility of continuing the two-state solution, with Jerusalem the capital of both states . "

He continued: "The settlements are illegal under international law. The European Union will not recognize any changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties . "

The High Representative for the European Union foreign policy called on "Israel to reconsider these plans . "

Yesterday, Sunday, the Hebrew media revealed that the outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government had issued tenders for building around 1,000 new settlement units in occupied Jerusalem .

The Hebrew "Kan" channel reported that Netanyahu´s office, and the Ministry of Housing and Building, were going to announce within days of tenders for building about 1,000 settlement units in the "Givat Hamtus" area, south of occupied Jerusalem .

She explained that there is talk about tenders that will be implemented in the region subject to the "construction freeze" since 2014, against the backdrop of the opposition of the United States and Germany to build on it at the time .

The international community considers the overwhelming majority of settlements illegal, and is based on the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the occupying power from transferring Israelis to the occupied territories.