EU Delays Summit with «Israel» over Settlement Law

Local Editor

Following the "Israeli" entity's decision to accelerate construction in the occupied West Bank settlements and in East al-Quds [Jerusalem] and in light of the passage of the law dubbed the "regularization bill," which enables the expropriation of private Palestinian land, a summit between the "Israeli" entity and the European Union [EU] scheduled for February 28 will now be postponed.

European diplomats noted that the meeting had already been delayed for five years, and was meant to signify a thawing in the relations between the entity and the EU.

The diplomats, who wished to remain anonymous due to the matter's sensitivity, told Haaretz that during Monday's meeting of the EU's foreign ministers, several states voiced their opposition to holding the summit, dubbed the "association meeting." The meeting was meant to mark the tightened cooperation between the "Israeli" entity and the EU and to set out a work plan and priorities for improving relations between the sides.

Among the countries that expressed their reservations regarding the summit were France, Sweden, Ireland, The Netherlands and Finland.

The European diplomats noted that these countries claimed that recent moves by the entity regarding illegal settlements, namely declarations of plans to build 6,000 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds, had rendered holding the summit a mistake. Some countries argued that holding a meeting at this time would be akin to rewarding "Israel" for its bad conduct.

In the absence of a consensus among the 28 member states in the EU the meeting with the "Israeli" entity cannot be held, the diplomats said. The consensus must relate not only to the date but to the agenda, the topics to be discussed with the entity and the closing statements. The diplomats said that at this point there is no consensus, so it was decided to discuss the matter at the next meeting of the foreign ministers, scheduled to take place in early March.

EU Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini was hoping to hold the summit with the "Israeli" entity in order to signal that the sides are embarking on a new road. However, Mogherini will find it difficult to promote the issue against the opposition by prominent EU members such as France.

In a press conference on Monday following the EU foreign ministers meeting, Mogherini avoided saying when the summit would be held, even though a date had already been set for February 28. She also didn't explicitly say that the summit was postponed.

The diplomats said that the foreign ministers meeting was held several hours before the "Israeli" Knesset voted on the so-called "Regularization Bill." However, they said that several of the EU ministers voiced great concern that the Knesset would pass the measure, and listed it as one of the reasons why the time isn't right to hold the summit with the "Israeli" entity.

The US was not quick to respond to the measure's approval. A senior official at the State Department said that the Trump administration wants to discuss the matter with both parties.

According to the official, the US will not respond until the "Israeli" entity's so-called "Supreme Court" rules on the petition against the law.

Mogherini is expected to fly to Washington this week for a series of meetings with senior members of the Trump administration, set to deal mainly with the "Israeli"-Palestinian conflict. Mogherini is scheduled to meet Security Adviser Gen. Michael Flynn and the president's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is expected to handle the "Israeli"-Palestinian issue.

Mogherini said Monday that she will emphasize to the Americans that the EU's stance is still supportive of the so-called "two-state" solution and against settlement construction. Later this month Mogherini will also meet Vice President Mike Pence, when he travels to Brussels with State Secretary Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Gen. James Mattis. Mogherini is expected to stress the EU's position on the "Israeli"-Palestinian conflict in these meetings as well.

Jordan and Turkey condemned the law on Tuesday morning.

Jordan's Minister of Information Mohammed al-Mumani termed the law a "provocation" and stressed that it harms the possibility of the so-called "two-state" solution and could lead to violent escalation in the region.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the law was unacceptable and that the policy of the Israeli government is destroying any basis for the so-called "two-state" solution.

Reacting to the decision, "Israeli" lawmaker Ksenia Svetlova of Zionist Union said: "‘Israel' pays a political price for its irresponsible leaders who surrender to an extremist minority."

Svetlova saw the EU's step as "only the beginning" of measures against the "Israeli" entity she feared would take place, and that she had demanded the Knesset debate the issue.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team