The European Union and a number of individual member states reiterate their opposition to Israeli plans to advance construction plans in the Jerusalem area beyond the Green Line.
The EU and France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden express their “grave concerns regarding the advancement of settlement construction in Givat Hamatos and potentially in E1 area,” in a so-called demarche filed with the Foreign Ministry.
It’s their second demarche — diplomatic jargon for protest letter — in this regard since May.
“Settlements are illegal under International Humanitarian Law. Any further settlement construction in this strategically sensitive area will have a devastating impact on a contiguous Palestinian State, as well as severely undermining the possibility of a negotiated two-state solution in line with internationally agreed parameters,” the demarche states.
The Foreign Ministry confirms having received a second demarche, but declines to further comment on the matter.
View of caravans in the Givat Hamatos neighborhood of Jerusalem on July 5, 2016. (Lior Mizrahi/Flash90)
— Raphael Ahren
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