The European Union said on Wednesday it was deeply concerned about Israel’s plan to turn a former army base in the occupied West Bank into a settlement for 30 Jewish settler families evacuated from Gaza last year.

A US backed Israeli-Palestinian peace plan known as the "Road map” calls for a halt to settlement construction in the West Bank, land Palestinians want for a state. “This development runs contrary to the commitment undertaken by Israel in the road map,” Finland, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, said in a statement. (Reuters)