Israeli settlements major obstacle for peace
Israel's construction in east Jerusalem is a deliberate strategy to prevent the city from becoming capital of two states, an internal EU report found yesterday, urging members to block funding for any settlement activities.
In its Jerusalem Report 2012, a copy of which was seen by AFP, the European Union said Jewish settlement construction posed "the biggest single threat to the two-state solution".
And it outlined a series of recommendations urging member states to halt or avoid any financial investment or transactions which could directly or indirectly feed into Israel's settlement-building enterprise -- in an effective call for economic sanctions.
Written by the EU heads of mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah, the strongly-worded report described Israel's settlement construction in east Jerusalem as "systematic, deliberate and provocative" accusing the Jewish state of making deliberate political choices that threaten to render the two-state solution impossible.
An Israel spokesman dismissed the report, saying it showed that the Europeans had failed in their diplomatic mission.
Relations between Israel and the EU have been unusually tense in recent months, with Europe voicing anger over a swathe of Israeli plans for more than 5,000 new settler homes in east Jerusalem.
In 2012, tenders were issued for 2,366 new units which was "more than twice" the total number issued over the preceding three years, the report said, noting most were for construction in Har Homa.
It also highlighted Israel's plans to build 3,426 units in E1 -- a deeply sensitive strip of West Bank land east of Jerusalem, saying if implemented, it would threaten "2,300 Bedouin with forcible transfer" and effectively cut the West Bank in half.
It was the decision to build in E1 as a punishment for the Palestinians winning upgraded membership at the United Nations that saw Europe's frustration peak late last year, sparking Israeli fears that the EU bloc could call for economic sanctions.
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