European Union reaffirms view that Israel’s activities in the occupied territories are illegal

The European Union hit out at illegal Israeli settlement activity and rebuffed a US announcement that it will, in essence, back the building of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The European bloc, in response to the US abandonment of its position on Israeli settlements, reasserted the illegality of such activity in occupied Palestinian territory, saying it eroded the prospects for peace.

“The EU’s position on Israeli settlement policy in the occupied Palestinian territory is clear and remains unchanged: all settlement activity is illegal under international law,” EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said.

“The EU calls on Israel to end all settlement activity, in line with its obligations as an occupying power,” she said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday the United States would be changing its position on Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The move was the latest in a series of serious shifts in US foreign policy towards Israel and Palestine.

Mr Pompeo said that the administration of President Donald Trump would disregard a 1978 opinion, the basis for Washington’s prior backing for international law on the Israeli settlements, and allow the issue to be addressed by the Israeli courts.

Carl Bildt, the co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, said that the change in US policy represented a “profoundly dangerous step”.

“In its latest policy pronouncement [Pompeo] basically says that international law is irrelevant and might is what makes right in today’s world,” he said.