“Israel’s determination to continue its settlement policy despite the urging of the international community not only
threatens the viability of the two state solution but also seriously calls into question its commitment to a negotiated
agreement with the Palestinians,” the EU said in a statement on Saturday.
“Settlements are illegal under international law,” the statement stressed.
Jerusalem’s district planning committee issued a fresh batch of construction approvals on Wednesday, according to settlement watchdog Peace Now.
The new homes are to be built in Ramat Shlomo, an ultra-Orthodox settlement neighborhood nestled in mostly Arab East Jerusalem, Hagit Ofran, a spokesman for Settlement watchdog Peace Now, told AFP.
The move came shortly after re-elected Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, struck a deal with Jewish Home (Bayit Yehudi), a Zionist pro-settlement party, to form a new rightwing-religious coalition government.
The Palestinian authorities condemned the new government, with senior Palestinian official, Nabil Shaath, calling it a
“colonial settler cabinet.”
Israeli settlement plans were slammed by Washington on Thursday, with US State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke calling them “a disappointing development.”