EU Parliament condemns Israeli settlements

Members of the European Parliament on Thursday attacked Israel's settlement policy, particularly a law that retroactively legalized Jewish settlements on privately owned Palestinian land.

A "two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states" was the only viable option for lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, MEPs said in a resolution.

The resolution called for Israel to immediately stop construction of new settlements as they were "illegal under international law, undermine the two-state solution, and constitute a major obstacle to peace efforts."

The resolution condemned all acts of violence and terrorism and all acts of provocation and incitement, including on Israelis.

MEPs signaled their intention to launch a new EU peace initiative to focusing on the two-state solution and to achieve concrete results within a set period.

Five major parliamentary groups voted in favor of the resolution, which singled out the so-called regularization law approved by Israel's parliament in February.

The Brussels-based American Jewish Committee Transatlantic Institute commended the EU's resolution, saying previous resolutions lacked balance.

"While we would have wished for even clearer language, we appreciate the important step Parliament has taken to end the counterproductive habit of sheltering the Palestinians from legitimate criticism," said Director Daniel Schwammenthal.

"By unflinchingly addressing also the Palestinians' own shortcomings that prevent the creation of an independent Palestinian state - such as incitement, terror, corruption, lack of rule of law, internal division - the EU can play a truly constructive role in the peace process."

His comments referred to language in the resolution he interpreted as an "indirect condemnation of the Palestinian Authority for paying significant salaries to Palestinian terrorists in Israeli prisons."

About 600,000 Israeli settlers live in more than 200 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. 

In December, the Israeli government lashed out over a UN Security Council resolution that condemned Israeli settlement building in the Palestinian Territories and called on Israel to stop immediately.

aw/rt (AFP, dpa)