London (Monitoring Desk) EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has urged Israel to immediately halt the E1 settlement plan in the occupied West Bank.
Kaja Kallas said Israel’s plan to build new Jewish settlements in the E1 area could severely undermine the prospects for a two-state solution.
Last week, the Israeli government issued a tender for the construction of more than 1,200 residential units in the occupied West Bank. According to the European Union, the project could disconnect the northern part of the West Bank from its southern part.
Kaja Kallas called on Israel to withdraw the tender and halt other plans to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank.
She warned that further settlement expansion would affect the geographical continuity of Palestinian territories and could limit the prospects for establishing an independent Palestinian state in the future.
E1 is an important area located between East Jerusalem and the West Bank, where construction is considered a major challenge to the establishment of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution.
The European Union has previously expressed concern over Israel’s settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and has repeatedly urged Israel to refrain from actions that could undermine the prospects for lasting peace in the region.