EU hints Israeli settlement activity harms Abraham Accords

The left-wing NGO Peace Now said that PM Benjamin Netanyahu "is once again putting his personal political interests over those of the country."

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
The meeting room where an EU leaders summit will take place is seen especially adapted to keep the social distancing amid the coronavirus outbreak, at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium July 16, 2020. (photo credit: YVES HERMAN / REUTERS)
The meeting room where an EU leaders summit will take place is seen especially adapted to keep the social distancing amid the coronavirus outbreak, at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium July 16, 2020.
(photo credit: YVES HERMAN / REUTERS)
The European Union hinted that Israeli settlement activity could harm the Abraham Accords as Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu spoke of a possible declaration to legalize 46 outposts "within days" and the IDF advanced plans for 792 settler homes.
'At this critical juncture for peace in the Middle East, these moves are … counterproductive in light of the positive developments of normalization agreements between Israel and a number of Arab States," said the spokesperson for EU foreign affairs and security policy.
Under the rubric of the Trump administration's Abraham Accords, Israel normalized ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan in exchange for the suspension of plans to annex the settlements.
No mention was made of settlement activity, which has been a source of conflict with the EU and is likely to be problem between Israel and US President-elect Joe Biden who takes office on Wednesday.
"The EU has repeatedly called on Israel to end all settlement activity, and to dismantle outposts erected since March 2001," the EU spokesperson said.
He reiterated that settlement activity was "contrary to international law and further undermines the prospects of a viable two-state solution." He also called on Israel to suspend an east Jerusalem project for new Jewish homes in Givat Hamatos.
The spokesperson for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel's recent settlement moves were a slight to Biden.
This is a preemptive attempt to undermine any effort by the Biden's administration to relaunch the stalled peace process, spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said.
His words were reported in the Palestinian news agency WAFA. Rudeineh called for immediate international action.
Rudeineh spoke after the Higher Planning Council for Judea and Samaria met Sunday. It agreed to the deposit of plans for 415 new homes and to the authorization of 377 units.
The left-wing NGO Peace Now said that “by promoting hundreds of settlement units, Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu is once again putting his personal political interests over those of the country. Not only will this settlement activity erode the possibility for a conflict-ending resolution with the Palestinians in the long-term, but in the short-term it needlessly sets Israel on a collision course with the incoming Biden administration.”
The advancement of two of the plans, moved two outposts forward in the path towards legalization.
This included deposit of a plan for 96 homes in the Havat Yair outpost, which will become a new neighborhood of the Yakir settlements.
In addition, a plan for 94 homes in the Nofei Nechemia outpost was deposited so that the community could become a new neighborhood of the Rehelim settlement.  An additional 118 homes for that community were also advanced.
Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan called the deposit of plans for the two outposts an "historic achievement" and said that it marked the turning point towards their authorization.
The advancement of plans for these two outposts is independent of the overall outpost battle that the Yesha Council is waging. It has called for the government to declare its intent to legalize the outposts.
Plans for 107 news homes in the Tel Menashe settlement were also deposited. Tel Menashe is the home community of terror victim Esther Horgan, who was killed while jogging in a nearby forest. Her family had called for additional building in her memory. Her husband Benjamin participated in the Council meeting over Zoom and thanked its members.
The Higher Planning Council also gave its approval to plans for 377 settler homes. This included 66 in Oranit, 36 in Karnei Shomron, 152 in Shavei Shomron and 123 in Itamar.
Settler reaction was muted in part because focus has been on the large outpost battle and because the number of settler homes advanced is low compared to past meetings, when the number of units advanced were often in the range of several thousand.


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