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"I join US vice-president Joe Biden in condemning the decision to build 1,600 new houses in east Jerusalem," Ashton said at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
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BRUSSELS (EJP)---EU’s foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton on Wednesday joined US vice-president Joe Biden in condemning the Israeli government’s plan to build 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem and asked Israel to reverse its decision.
"I join US vice-president Joe Biden in condemning the decision to build 1,600 new houses in east Jerusalem," Ashton told MEPs in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
In a statement issued Wednesday on behalf of the European Union, Ashton said: The EU condemns the decision by the Government of Israel to build new housing units in East Jerusalem. Israel should reverse his decision.”
“The EU calls upon the Israeli authorities to fulfil all their commitments and obligations vis-à-vis the peace process and to refrain from unilateral decisions and actions that may jeopardize the final status negotiations”.
The European Union reiterated that “settlements are illegal under international law."
“They undermine current efforts for restarting peace negotiations, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten to make a two-state solution impossible,” Ashton said.
Israel's interior ministry on Tuesday approved the construction of the new housing units in Ramat Shlomo.