EU states mull ‘unified stance’ against Israeli settlement construction
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A picture taken on February 20, 2017 shows a general view of the Israeli settlement of Bani Hever in the south of Israeli-occupied West Bank. (Photo by AFP)
The European Union (EU) member states seek to discuss whether to go ahead with routine talks with the Israeli regime before the bloc has adopted a “unified and clear” stance against Tel Aviv’s defiant settlement construction on Occupied Palestinian Territories.
According to Press TV, the EU, like much of the rest of the world, considers Israeli settlements a violation of international law and an impediment to peace with the Palestinians, whose land has been occupied by the Israelis.
European diplomats anonymously told The Associated Press on Friday that the foreign ministers of the EU member states were now to discuss a unanimous stance against the unlawful constructions before holding a next round of routine talks with Tel Aviv.
Such internal deliberation has effectively put a future schedule for the talks with Israel in uncertainty.
One diplomat said future talks could not be “business as usual. Things have to be said very clearly to the Israelis.”
“We want to have a unified and clear European Union position that takes into account developments on the ground,” the diplomat said. “Once we have a clear position, then we can look at a date” for future talks with Israel.
Zionist regime has been setting up settlements across the West Bank and East al-Quds since occupying the Palestinian territories in 1967. The structures have been widely condemned as an insidious push toward facilitating the annexation of the lands.
The Israeli parliament on February 6 rubber-stamped the so-called “Legalization Bill,” which retroactively legalized structures built on Palestinian land. The move came barely two months after the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a resolution declaring that settlement construction “constitutes a flagrant violation under international law.”
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres blasted the ratification of the bill, emphasizing that it would “have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel.” A chorus of outcry also followed from elsewhere, including from the German government.
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