EU urges Israel to stop settlement policy, warns plan undermines 2-state solution

ISTANBUL

EU foreign policy chief on Thursday urged the Israeli government to halt its settlement policy, warning that its plan undermines the two-state solution.

"The EU reiterates its call on Israel to halt settlement construction. Israel’s settlement policy, including demolitions, forced transfers, evictions and confiscations of homes, must stop," Kaja Kallas said in a statement issued by the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU’s diplomatic arm.

She noted that Israel's decision to advance its settlement plan undermines the two-state solution while breaching international law.

"If implemented, settlement construction in this area will permanently cut the geographical and territorial contiguity between occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank and sever the connection between the northern and southern West Bank," Kallas explained.

She stressed that the "unilateral decisions," along with settler violence and military operations, fuel an already tense situation on the ground and erode the possibility for peace.

"The EU urges Israel to desist from taking this decision forward, noting its far-reaching implications and the need to consider action to protect the viability of the two-state solution," Kallas added.

On Thursday, Israeli media reported that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved the construction of 3,401 settler units in Ma’ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem, and 3,515 more in surrounding areas. The project aims to split the West Bank into two parts, severing connections between its northern and southern cities and isolating East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounced the move as part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vision for “Greater Israel,” warning it would entrench the occupation and eliminate the viability of a Palestinian state.

The international community, including the UN, considers the Israeli settlements illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution, a framework seen as key to resolving the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In an advisory opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.