"The EU calls on Israel to end all settlement activity, in line with its obligations as an occupying power," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement on Monday, Reuters reported.
Mogherini was reacting to US Secretary of State Mike Pomepo’s abandoning of the US four-decade-old position that building settlements for the Israeli regime in Palestinian territories is "inconsistent with international law."
Pompeo’s announcement on Monday put the Trump administration at odds with the EU and the stated efforts to bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
The US top diplomat, a former CIA chief, claimed the decision would help strengthen the US position in its Mideast initiative, authored by Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner.
Palestinians have condemned the US green light for a boost in the Tel Aviv regime’s expansive policy, with Palestinian official Saeb Erekat, asserting that it must be condemned.
The Israeli regime has faced widespread global condemnation over settlement constructions in the occupied Palestinian lands as much of the international community regards the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in the 1967 war and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbids construction on the occupied lands.
MNA/PR