Foreign MPs urge EU to halt settlement ban
Parliamentarians from several countries, including Guatemala, South Africa and US, say planned EU restrictions on Israeli institutions beyond 1967 lines 'woefully misguided at best and discriminatory at worst'
Two dozen parliamentarians from around the world are urging the EU to halt a planned ban on Israeli institutions in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The move, following in the footsteps of action taken in the US Congress against the EU guidelines, which were made public as peace negotiations resumed between Israelis and Palestinians after a three year hiatus came at the culmination of the Israel Allies Caucus international chairman's conference held in Jerusalem.
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"We are urging the EU to halt this harmful directive which will only serve to hamper the chance for progress in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations," Rep Doug Lamborn (R-CO) said.
The parliamentarians issued a "Statement of Solidarity with the State of Israel" this week in which they expressed their "deep concern over the European Union's recently publicized restrictions on Israeli institutions beyond the 1967 lines.
"These counterproductive directives, which come at a time of newly re-launched peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, will only serve to hamper the chances of serious bilateral negotiations between the two sides, and are a disincentive for the Palestinian Authority to engage in serious negotiations," read the statement, which was signed, among others, by South African MP Kenneth Meshoe, UK Independence Party member Roger Helmer and Congressman Doug Lamborn.
"Moreover, we strongly believe that during this time of serious upheaval in the Middle East, when the region is wash with violent turmoil and Iran is continuing its pursuit of nuclear weapons, that this decidedly partisan focus on unilaterally pressuring Israel is woefully misguided at best and discriminatory at worst," the parliamentarians said.
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