EU calls on Israel to end illegal homes in West Bank

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - The EU on Monday called on Israel to end all illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

"The EU calls on Israel to end all settlement activity, in line with its obligations as an occupying power," an EU spokesperson said in a statement.

The spokesperson said Israeli authorities approved the advancement of well over 2,000 housing units in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank in October.

"The European Union's position on Israeli settlement policy in the occupied Palestinian territory is clear and remains unchanged: all settlement activity is illegal under international law and it erodes the viability of the two-state solution and the prospects for a lasting peace, as reaffirmed by UN Security Council Resolution 2334," the spokesperson said.

The EU will continue to support a negotiated two-state solution, according to the statement.

Roughly 650,000 Israeli Jews currently live on more than 100 settlements built since 1967, when Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The Palestinians want these territories -- along with the Gaza Strip -- for the establishment of a future Palestinian state.

International law views both the West Bank and East Jerusalem as "occupied territories" and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity there as illegal.