JERUSALEM (EJP)—The European Union Ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, rejected Israeli accusations that the EU is being ‘one-sided’ on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he said: “I don’t see any basis for the allegation that we’re being one-sided and not being even-handed on this issue,” Faaborg-Andersen said, adding that the EU has consistently condemned rocket fire at Israel and other attacks on Israeli citizens and soldiers.
“Any kind of action been taken that, in our view, undermine the talks is something that we’re critical of. We’re passing on messages to both parties,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week slammed the EU an accused it of “hypocrisy” in condemning settlement construction but not the Palestinians for incitement or continued terrorism.
Netanyahu’s anger was sparked by an apparently coordinated move last week to summon Israel’s ambassadors in London, Paris, Rome and Madrid to protest the recent announcement of construction of 1,400 new homes in the major settlement blocs and Jerusalem neighborhoods beyond the Green Line.
The Prime Minister dismissed the claim that settlements are an obstacle to a peace agreement and one day after the EU move, Israel summoned the EU ambassador to the foreign ministry in Jerusalem.
He declared: ‘The European Union called in our ambassadors in the EU because of the construction of a few houses? When did the EU call in the Palestinian ambassadors to complain about the incitement that calls for Israel’s destruction? When do the Palestinian ambassadors get called in to hear complaints about the fact that security officers in the Palestinian security forces are participating in terrorist attacks against innocent Israelis?”.
Earlier on Wednesday, Faaborg-Andersen met with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin in Jerusalem. During the meeting, Elkin complained about the EU’s “unfair and one-sided policy” vis-à-vis Israel, according to his spokesperson. “We’re condemned for every announcement of settlemen] building, but there are no condemnations issued over the rocket fire from Gaza and the escalation in the region,” Elkin told the EU diplomat.
The EU ambassador Faaborg-Andersen, who is a former Danish diplomat, told reporters that the Europeans are “very critical of anything on the ground that can hurt the process,” including rockets from Gaza, incitement, house demolitions, and further construction in the settlements. He said that on several occasions he has personally condemned Palestinian violence and put similar condemnations issued by EU foreign policy chief Catherin Ashton on his website.
Faaborg-Andersen said that the EU was keen on expanding its relations with Israel “within the 1967 lines.” But, he added, if Israel continues with settlement expansion, and there was no result from the current round of negotiations, “I’m afraid that what will transpire is a situation where Israel will find itself increasingly isolated.”
He said this “isolation” would likely come not from decisions made at a governmental level but rather by a myriad of private economic actions, such as divestment by pension funds and consumers who will not buy Israeli products. He said that the EU had no view on private companies that have decided to cut ties with Israeli companies. His main concern, he said, was that no EU money should be spent in the settlements over the Green Line.
He said that the EU had made it clear to both parties that “there will be a price to pay if the negotiations falter.”Asked what price would be extracted from the Palestinians, he said that they have been told clearly that “the option of just sitting around waiting is not an option, and there is no plan B if talks fail that the EU would encourage.”
The ambassador also said the EU has not pronounced a position on Israel’s demand that the Palestinians recognize it as a Jewish state.
The reason, he said, was because the EU was not sure about the implications of this on other final-status issues, and therefore it is an issue to be discussed between the parties.