Israel Is Urged To Stop Residential Construction In East Jerusalem, European Country: It Is Violation Of International Law

Illustration of the Jerusalem area. (Wikimedia Commons/Jfragments)

JAKARTA - The Foreign Ministries of France, Germany, Italy, and Spain urged Israeli authorities late Wednesday to halt construction of new housing units in East Jerusalem.

Earlier this month, Israeli authorities approved plans to build some 3.500 homes in occupied East Jerusalem, nearly half of which will be built in the controversial Givat Hamatos and Har Homa areas.

In a statement, European countries said the hundreds of new buildings would "constitute an additional obstacle to a two-state solution," referring to international peace efforts to create a state for the Palestinians.

"Development in this area will further sever the West Bank from East Jerusalem, and that these settlements constitute a violation of international law," the statement said, citing Reuters January 20.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Israel captured East Jerusalem including the Old City in the 1967 war and later annexed it, a move not recognized internationally.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of the state they seek in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which borders the city and the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israel views the entire city as its indivisible capital.

Most world powers consider Israeli settlements illegal, as they take up territory where Palestinians seek statehood.

In the statement, the four countries also expressed concern about evictions and demolitions in east Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, where residents said they were seeking refuge.

As previously reported, Israeli police expelled a Palestinian family from their home in East Jerusalem, followed by a digger tearing down the property, prompting criticism from rights activists and diplomats.