A report by the EU heads of mission in eastern Yerushalayim condemns Israeli construction in Yerushalayim as deliberately designed to prevent the division of the city in any peace agreement. The report is non-binding and has the official status of an internal document. Previous reports have failed to secure the backing of EU ambassadors and foreign ministers necessary to become official policy.
Israeli officials dismissed the latest report as unbalanced and partisan. “The consul-generals in eastern Jerusalem aren’t allowed to speak to Israeli government officials,” one government figure said. “They only have contact with officials on one side and therefore their reports tend to be very one-sided. The notion that settlements are the whole problem with the peace process is something we reject. The aftermath of our evacuation of settlements from Gaza, when we got the opposite of peace, tells you all you need to know.”
{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}
