BICOM

In an unusually strong statement, EU foreign ministers on Monday issued a critique of Israel saying that settlement building, settler actions and ill treatment of Palestinians threatens a two-state solution.

“The EU expresses deep concern about developments on the ground which threaten to make a two-state solution impossible,” the bloc’s 27 ministers said in a statement issued during talks in Brussels. “The viability of a two-state solution must be maintained,” the three-page European Union statement added.

In an equally strong worded response, Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying the EU position included “a long list of claims and criticism which are based on a partial, biased and one-sided depiction of realities on the ground.”

“Such a public presentation does not contribute to advancing the (peace) process,” it said. “Israel is committed to the wellbeing of the Palestinian population and acts according to all relevant international conventions.”

EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton said the EU wants to see negotiations move forward and hopes the inclusion of Kadima into the coalition might present an opportunity for restarting peace talks.

Netanyahu’s special envoy, Yitzhak Molcho, delivered a letter to the Palestinians on Saturday with some ideas for reviving negotiations. Speaking to MKs from his party this morning, Netanyahu said he hoped the Palestinians would answer his letter “positively and we will find a way to renew the dialogue and go forward toward negotiations.”

The Palestinians have not yet responded to his letter but initial grumblings indicated disappointment, as the letter did not meet their longstanding demand of an Israeli halt to settlement construction. The Palestinians have said they will not resume talks without a settlement freeze and an Israeli guarantee to make the pre-1967 lines the basis of future borders. Israel has insisted on face-to-face negotiations without pre-conditions.