EU Slams Israel over Latest Settlement Expansion in Palestine

The European Union has issued a statement heavily criticizing Israel's latest land seizure, which the bloc says hinders the process toward a two-state solution and the prospect of peace with Palestinians.

The statement comes a week after Israel seized 579 acres, or 234 hectares, of Palestinian land near the Dead Sea and the Palestinian city of Jericho. It represents the biggest land seizure in recent years.

“Israel’s decision to declare 234 hectares near Jericho in Area C of the West Bank as state land is a further step that risks undermining the viability of a future Palestinian state and therefore calls into question Israel’s commitment to a two-state solution,” the EU said in a statement.

#Map Israeli occupation declared 2342 dunums as "state land" in the southern #Jericho entrance #Palestine pic.twitter.com/kSIVkHrH98

— Palestine PLO - NAD (@nadplo) March 15, 2016

“This decision sends a wrong signal at the wrong time,” the German Foreign Ministry commented in a statement.

Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories explained the March 10 seizure as having been made in accordance with “the decision of the political level and the examining of the professional authorities,” who have declared the territory to be “state lands.”

The land is eventually supposed to be used to build tourism and other commercial facilities.

The EU reminds Israel that further settlement expansion is illegal under international law and “represent an obstacle to peace, [which] will only drive the parties to the conflict even further apart,” the EU said.

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Ever since peace talks collapsed in 2014, France has actively tried to organize an international Israeli-Palestinian peace conference. Palestinians have cited Israeli settlement activity as one of the factors behind the collapse of U.S.-brokered peace talks in 2014.

Whereas Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed his willingness to participate in international talks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined, saying he prefers direct talks with Palestinians.

Earlier this week, the United Nations were the first to condemn Israel's latest move.

The U.S. State Department criticized the land seizure, saying ongoing expropriation and settlement expansion is "fundamentally undermining the prospects for a two-state solution."

"We strongly oppose any steps that accelerate settlement expansion, which raises serious questions about Israel's long-term intentions," State Department spokesperson John Kirby told a news briefing

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