EU Envoy Calls On “Israel” to Reconsider Illegal Settlement Plans in WB

By Staff, Agencies

A European Union representative has condemned the “Israeli” regime’s plans for the construction of nearly 600 new illegal settler units in the occupied West Bank, calling on Tel Aviv to reconsider the decision.

Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff, the EU’s ambassador to Palestine, made the remarks in a statement on Wednesday, during a visit by a delegation of 20 European ambassadors and consuls to the historical town of Sebastia, north of Nablus.

The EU diplomat said Sebastia is an occupied territory, adding that any action by the “Israeli” entity in this area is a violation of international law.

He also expressed the EU’s solidarity with the residents of Sebastia, emphasizing that it is the right of Palestinians to stay and live there.

The “Israeli” entity has approved a proposal to invest $8 million to develop the Sebastia site to allow more settlers to reach the area and to decrease Palestinians access there.

Last week, the chief of the “Israeli” military’s Central Command also signed an order that allows “Israelis” to enter the illegal Homesh outpost in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, paving the way for a formal settlement to be built there.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Von Burgsdorff denounced the occupying regime’s support for “Israeli” settlers to return to evacuated settlements in the northern West Bank.

“Legalizing the return of settlers to evacuated outposts in the northern West Bank is contrary to the decisions” of the “Israeli” entity’s so-called supreme court as well as the international law, he said, asserting that “all forms of settlements are illegal.”

The EU official further called on the entity to stop its acts of violence, prevent settler attacks, and protect Palestinians against those attacks.

Incidents of sabotage and violence by settlers against Palestinians and their property have become a daily occurrence throughout the occupied territories, particularly in the West Bank.

However, “Israeli” authorities rarely prosecute settlers and the vast majority of the files are closed due to deliberate police failure to investigate them properly.

The United Nations has already warned of a surge in “Israeli” settler violence against Palestinians, mostly in the areas of al-Khalil [Hebron], al-Quds [Jerusalem], Nablus and Ramallah.