The European Union (EU) Representative and the EU Heads of Mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah Thursday decried Israeli inauguration of a settlement project in the heart of Silwan east of Occupied Jerusalem.
“The EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah express serious concern at the official inauguration on 1st August of a touristic center run by a settler organization in the Batn al-Hawa/Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem in the compound from which five households of the Palestinian Abu Nab family were evicted in 2015” they said in a statement.
“Around 180 Palestinian households in East Jerusalem out of which approximately 100 in Batn al-Hawa alone face the risk of eviction from their homes directly facilitating further settlement growth in the city as in this instance” they said.
“The EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah recall the successive Foreign Affairs Council Conclusions and statements in which the EU has repeated its strong opposition to Israel’s settlement policy and actions taken in this context including evictions and demolitions” the statement read.
“Settlement activity in East Jerusalem seriously jeopardizes the possibility of Jerusalem serving as the future capital of both States is illegal under international law and undermines the viability of the two-state solution and the prospect for a lasting peace” the EU proceeded.
