EU Urges Israel to Reverse West Bank Moves
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton called on Israel to reverse recent actions, such as announcing new settlements in the occupied West Bank, to bolster faltering peace talks.
Ashton viewed with "great concern" an Israeli decision to declare an area near the Gush Etzion settlement south of Bethlehem and approval of a new Jewish settlement in the southern city of Hebron, a statement from her office said.
The continued demolition of Palestinian property and the confiscation of EU humanitarian aid were also worrying, Ashton added.
Earlier this month, an EU official said Israel had demolished several EU-funded humanitarian housing shelters in a highly sensitive strip of West Bank land near Jerusalem, AFP reported.
"The EU calls on the Israeli authorities to reverse these decisions," Ashton said.
Such events are "not conducive to the climate of trust and cooperation needed for the current peace negotiations to succeed," she added.
Under an agreement brokered by the US for the resumption of the talks last July, Israel committed to releasing 104 prisoners held since before the 1993 Oslo autonomy accords in four batches.
But in March it cancelled the release of the last group of 26, triggering the ire of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas who retaliated by seeking accession to 15 international treaties and conventions.
