BRUSSELS, 14 (EUROPA PRESS)
The European Union on Thursday rejected plans to build more than 3,000 new homes in a settlement expansion that would divide the West Bank, asserting that any territorial changes must be the result of a political agreement between the parties.
"The EU's position is that it rejects any territorial change that is not part of a political agreement between the parties involved, so the annexation of territory is illegal under international law," said EU Foreign Affairs spokesperson Anitta Hipper at a press conference in the EU capital.
In this regard, he reiterated that Israel's settlement policy is "illegal" and "must stop."
On Wednesday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced a plan to build more than 3,000 new homes as part of the controversial urban plan to connect East Jerusalem with the Maale Adumim settlement, claiming that the measure "buries the idea of a Palestinian state."
"The approval of the building plans in E1 buries the idea of a Palestinian state and gives continuity to the numerous actions we are promoting on the ground as part of the de facto sovereignty plan initiated with the formation of the government," he said, referring to an initiative that promises 3,515 additional homes to the Tzipor Midbar neighborhood in Maale Adumim, bringing the total number of homes exclusively for Jews to 6,916.
With this plan, the ultra-nationalist minister hopes to double the population of this settlement, with approximately 35,000 new residents expected in the coming years.
