The European Union has repeatedly urged the Israeli government to immediately end all settlement activities in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
In a statement on Wednesday, EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton expressed serious concern over the implications of the recent decision by the Israeli authorities to call for a tender for 130 additional housing units in the settlement of Har Homa across the Green Line in East Jerusalem.
Ashton had already expressed her profound disappointment concerning the Har Homa plan approved in August 2011. She reminded Israel that "settlements are illegal under international law and threaten to make a two-state solution impossible."
Israelis and the Palestinians are yet to resume direct negotiations since talks stalled in September 2010, after Israel refused to extend its freeze on settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Members of the Middle East Quartet - the diplomatic grouping consisting of the U.N., the European Union, Russia and the United States to facilitate peace talks - had urged both Israel and the Palestinians to avoid actions that undermine trust between them and expressed concern over unilateral and provocative actions by either party, including continued settlement activity.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.