EU slams Israeli plans to construct new settler units in occupied Jerusalem al-Quds

The European Union has condemned the latest Israeli plans to construct over 1,200 new settler units in occupied Jerusalem al-Quds, saying the Tel Aviv regime’s settlement expansion activities prevent resumption of meaningful negotiations between Palestinians and Israel.

“I am deeply worried by the Israeli authorities’ decision to open the bidding process for the construction of housing units for an entirely new settlement at Givat Hamatos,” EU  foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said in a statement released on Sunday.

“This is a key location between Jerusalem (al-Quds) and Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. Any settlement construction will cause serious damage to the prospects for a viable and contiguous Palestinian State and, more broadly, to the possibility of a negotiated two-state solution in line with the internationally agreed parameters,” he added.

Borrell further noted that Israeli settlements are illegal under the international law.

Hamas slams UAE for ‘real support’ of Israel’s settlement expansion in West Bank

Hamas has denounced the UAE for its practical support for Israel’s settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

“The EU has repeatedly called on Israel to end all settlement activity, and to dismantle outposts erected since March 2001. It remains the EU’s firm position that settlements are illegal under international law,” the top EU official pointed out.

“Israel should, instead, show vision and responsibility and reverse these negative decisions at this critical and sensitive time,” the statement concluded.

‘New Israeli settlement plan undermines efforts to establish Palestinian state'

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has criticized Israel’s recent settlement construction plan, saying the move is meant to undermine the so-called two-state solution to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“This a heavy blow to the principle of the [so-called] two-state solution, and to the opportunities seeking its implementation. The Israeli plan undermines the opportunity to establish a viable, geographically connected and sovereign Palestinian state,” the ministry said.

Israel to construct over 1,250 new settler units in East Jerusalem al-Quds

The Israeli regime is planning to build more than 1,250 settler units in the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds.

“It is quite clear that the occupying power is racing against time to exploit the remaining transitional period of US President Donald Trump to implement its expansionist colonial projects, which would undermine the chances of achieving peace on the basis of international resolutions,” the statement pointed out.

Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli ministry of housing and the so-called Israel Land Authority accepted plans for 1,257 settler units to be built at Givat HaMatos settlement.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.

Since Trump took office in December 2016, Israel has stepped up its settlement construction activities in defiance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which pronounced settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds “a flagrant violation under international law.”

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law as they are built on occupied land.

Under an agreement reached between Israel and the United Arab Emirates two months ago on normalization of ties, the Tel Aviv regime supposedly agreed to "temporarily" suspend applying its rule to further areas in the occupied West Bank and the strategic Jordan Valley that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pledged to annex.

While Emirati officials have described the normalization deal with the Tel Aviv regime as a successful means to stave off annexation and save the so-called two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli leaders have lined up to reject the bluff of Abu Dhabi's crown prince and de facto ruler of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, that Israel's annexation plans were off the table.

Israel endorses construction of new settlement near besieged Gaza Strip

The Israeli cabinet approves construction of a new settlement near the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Israeli prime minister has underlined that annexation is not off the table, but has simply been postponed.

Palestinians, who seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital, view the deals as betrayal of their cause.

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