BRUSSELS/RAMALLAH: EU foreign ministers yesterday issued a harsh critique of Israel, saying the gathering pace of settlement-building, settler extremism, and ill-treatment of Palestinians threaten 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 statement added.
Reiterating that settlements are illegal under international law, the ministers notably condemned "the marked acceleration" of settlement building since the end of a 2010 moratorium and expressed "deep concern" over settler extremism and incitement in the West Bank.
They also voiced concern over evictions and the demolition of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem "and the prevention of peaceful Palestinian cultural, economic, social or political activities."
Turning to the so-called Area C zone of the occupied West Bank, the statement underlined "the worsening living conditions" of the Palestinian population in general.
The ministers' stand came on the heels of a damaging report by NGOs alleging that Israel last year demolished dozens of Palestinian homes, water cisterns and farm buildings built with European funds.
In Area C, Israel has placed "serious limitations" on the Palestinian authority's ability to promote economic development, the statement said. Israel has full civilian and security control in the area. Saying the future of Area C was critical to a future Palestinian state because this was its main land reserve, the EU urged Israel to halt demolitions and simplify the granting of building permits.
"The EU will continue to provide financial assistance for Palestinian development in Area C and expects such investment to be protected for future use," the statement said.
Separately Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli jails are weighing a package of measures easing conditions in exchange for ending their protest, a Palestinian minister said yesterday.
"Until now, we are waiting for a decision from the hunger striking prisoners' committee," prisoners minister Issa Qaraqaa said.
"There is a meeting taking place right now at the Ashkelon prison to discuss the situation and the deal," he added.
Sources said Sunday that an agreement had been reached by Israeli and Palestinian representatives in Cairo on a package of measures to end a hunger strike in which 1,550 Palestinian prisoners are participating.
But before the deal can be finalized, it must be formally presented to the prisoners' leadership for their approval. "It's the leaders of the prisoners who have the key, to say yes or no," a Palestinian source close to the agreement said earlier yesterday.
Nearly a third of the 4,700 Palestinians in Israeli jails are now refusing food, including two detainees who were on the 76th day of their protest yesterday.
They are calling on Israel to ease restrictions on family visits and prisoner education, and an end to both solitary confinement and the use of administrative detention, a procedure under which suspects can be held indefinitely without charge.
But the Israel Prisons Service refused to confirm that a deal had been reached.
Speaking to Voice of Palestine radio, Qaraqaa said Israel had reportedly accepted three key prisoner demands — not renewing existing administrative detention orders, ending solitary confinement and permitting relatives from Gaza to visit detainees.
He said the hunger strike could end as early as possible if the concessions were accepted by the prisoners' leadership.
The mass hunger strike, which has widespread support on the Palestinian street, has also prompted concern from the leadership, with President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday warned of a "national disaster" if any of the prisoners died.
"These prisoners have a right to justice, and we are talking about the conditions of detention and prison conditions that Israel is trying to ignore," he said.
EU blasts Israel over settlements
