(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) Ussels june 06 (qna) -the european union has expressed its "deep disappointment" about israel's announcement of a new move to build around 1500 homes in jewish-only settlements across the occupied west bank.
"we call on the israeli authorities to reverse this decision and to direct all their efforts towards an early resumption of the peace talks" the eu said in a statement thursday stressing that the move was "unhelpful" for peace efforts.
"the eu and its member states have repeatedly called on all sides -- most recently in may -- to exercise maximum restraint and to avoid any unilateral action which may further undermine peace efforts and the viability of a two-state-solution such as continued settlement expansion" the statement continued.
"what is needed right now is constructive engagement in order to create a climate conducive to resumed negotiations." earlier thursday israel announced that it would be building 1500 new settlement homes in the occupied territories including 400 in east jerusalem and the rest elsewhere in the west bank.
the move comes in response to a palestinian unity deal that brought together fatah and hamas into one government for the first time in seven years.
israel rejects the deal however because it considers hamas a terrorist organization. (qna)
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.