The European Union said on Tuesday that Israel´s demolitions in Area C of the West Bank and Israeli settlement construction pose a threat to the viability of a two-state solution and undermine hopes for lasting peace.
This came in response to the demolition of a house and a restaurant by the Israeli occupation authorities in Battir and Beit Jala in the south of the West Bank, because they are located in areas classified (c).
"The Israeli settlement policy is illegal under international law, like other measures taken in this context, such as forcible deportations, evictions, demolitions and house confiscations," said a statement from the European Union, a copy of which was received by Xinhua.
"The EU expects the Israeli authorities to respect their obligations as an occupying power under international law," the statement said.
The statement reiterated the European Union´s repeated and strong opposition to the Israeli settlement policy and the measures taken in this context, including evictions and demolitions, stressing that the continuation of this policy undermines the possibility of achieving a two-state solution and lasting peace, and seriously threatens the possibility of Jerusalem as the future capital of the two states.
The West Bank and towns in Jerusalem, in accordance with the Oslo peace agreement signed between Israel and the PLO in 1993, are divided into three areas, one (a) under full Palestinian control, the second (b) under Israeli and Palestinian security control, and (c) It is under Israeli security and administrative control.
Settlement is the most prominent file of the dispute between the Palestinians and Israel in light of the stalled peace negotiations between them since the end of March 2014, after nine months of US-sponsored talks without progress.
