EU demands Israel immediately halt ‘settlement’ activity

While demanding a halt on Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria in a resolution that passed on Thursday, the EU also explicitly condemned Palestinian terror activity against Israelis.

The European Union’s Parliament passed a resolution on Thursday demanding that Israel immediately cease construction in Judea and Samaria.

The EU claimed that construction of Israeli homes in Judea and Samaria is “illegal under international law, undermines the two-state solution, and constitutes a major obstacle to peace efforts.”

Earlier this year, the EU warned Israel against taking steps to annex parts of Judea and Samaria.

The EU said the only possible peace between Israel and the Palestinians was a “two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.” The Members of Parliament also expressed their intentions to push their own initiative for a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The resolution received lukewarm praise from the American Jewish Committee Transatlantic Institute (AJCTI), for also condemning acts of violence against Israelis, as well as financial rewards for terrorist activity.

The resolution “condemns all acts of violence, acts of terrorism against Israelis, and incitement to violence, which are fundamentally incompatible with advancing a peaceful two-state solution,” in addition to recognizing “the responsibility of relevant EU authorities in continuing to ensure that no EU funding can be directly or indirectly diverted to terrorist organizations or activities that incite these acts.”

Moreover, the resolution gave “indirect condemnation of the Palestinian Authority for paying significant salaries to Palestinian terrorists in Israeli prisons.”

“While we would have wished for even clearer language, we appreciate the important step Parliament has taken to end the counterproductive habit of sheltering the Palestinians from legitimate criticism,” stated AJCTI Director Daniel Schwammenthal.

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News