(FoxNews/AFP) More to report on the EU decision to ban European funding of Israeli institutions operating in occupied territories. According to the AFP article carried by FoxNews.com, a high-ranking foreign ministry official from “Israel met the ambassadors of Britain and France, and Germany’s deputy envoy over plans by the EU to ban its 28 members from having any dealings with Jewish settlements, an official said on Friday.” Israel, of course, was not happy. “The Jewish state warned the envoys of a serious crisis between it and the European Union over the move,” reports the AFP.
The 28 countries that constitute the European Union have unanimously voted for the ban which is in line with their pre-existing policy. The EU policy states that any settlement building in occupied territory is illegal under international law. In fact, the exact wording of the preamble of that policy, as reported by AFP, states “the EU does not recognise Israel’s sovereignty over… the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including east Jerusalem… and does not consider them to be part of Israel’s territory, irrespective of their legal status under domestic law”. (Click here to read the full story.)
