BRUSSELS, December 20, 2011 (WAFA) – The European Union, France, Germany, Britain and Portugal denounced on Tuesday Israeli plans to build 1000 housing units in West Bank settlements.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton expressed in a statement issued in Brussels “disapproval” of the Israeli plans.

“I wish to express my strong disapproval of the Israeli authorities’ announcement that they intend to publish tenders for the construction of some 1,000 housing units in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem,” said the statement.

The EU's position is clear, said Ashton, “settlement construction is illegal under international law and further complicates efforts to find a solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

She urged Israel “not to proceed with this publication,” stressing that “by ensuring the suspension of the publication of these tenders, the Israeli government can contribute positively to these efforts.”

Meanwhile, the four EU member states at the United Nations Security Council – France, Germany, Britain and Portugal – condemned in a joint statement the Israeli settlement plan.

Israel’s settlement plans “send a devastating message,” said the four, adding that they were “dismayed by these wholly negative developments.”

Reading the statement, Britain’s UN ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said that “the viability of the Palestinian state that we want to see and the two-state solution that is essential for Israel's long-term security are threatened by the systematic and deliberate expansion of settlements.”

Similar condemnations were issued by most of the 15 members of the Security Council following the monthly discussion of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

M.S.