Paris-Sana
Today, 12 European countries called on the Israeli occupation entity to stop its settlement plans in the occupied Palestinian territories and to retract a new plan to build about three thousand settlement units in the occupied West Bank.
"We urge the Israeli government to reverse its decision on settlements," and affirmed their firm opposition to the policy of settlement expansion in all the occupied Palestinian territories, which constitutes a violation of international law and undermines efforts to reach a two-state solution, AFP quoted the spokesmen for the European foreign ministries as saying in a joint statement.
The United States has been highly critical of Israeli settlement initiatives, and State Department spokesman Ned Price said, "The expansion of settlements completely contradicts efforts to reduce violence and ensure calm, and harms the prospects for a two-state solution."
Last Monday, the European Union called on the occupation entity to stop its settlement plans in the occupied Palestinian territories and to retract a new plan to build about 1,300 settlement units in the occupied West Bank.