EU leaders on Friday condemned Israeli plans to build hundreds of new homes in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, and called on Israel to act swiftly to keep peace efforts alive.
"The EU reiterates that settlement building anywhere in the occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem, is illegal under international law," the bloc's presidency said in a statement after a leadership summit.
"Settlement activity prejudges the outcome of final status negotiations and threatens the viability of an agreed two-state solution. The European Council therefore urges Israel to take immediate action in particular on settlements and outposts," the leaders said.
The Israeli government said last Sunday that plans to build a total of 750 homes in Givat Ze'ev, a settlement near Jerusalem, were being revived.
The announcement of the new building came three days after a Palestinian gunman killed eight students at a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem associated with the settler movement.
EU leaders condemned that attack but said: "While recognizing Israel's legitimate right to self defense, the European Council calls for an immediate end to all acts of violence."
The EU is part of the Quartet of international mediators trying to promote peace talks aimed at creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel by the end of this year, as agreed in Annapolis, Maryland, last November.
EU leaders also said they were "deeply concerned by the unsustainable humanitarian situation in Gaza and called for the controlled and sustained reopening of all crossings in and out of Gaza for both humanitarian reasons and commercial flows."
Meanwhile, a German foreign ministry spokesman announced on Friday that Berlin will host an international conference on assistance to the Palestinian police and judiciary in June.
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas has welcomed the idea of the conference, which will look at ways to help authorities in the Palestinian territories prepare themselves for statehood, the ministry said in a statement.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will open the conference. Foreign ministers from Europe, the US and Russia and UN and Arab delegates are invited.
Merkel is due to visit Israel today and on Friday she talked to Abbas by telephone.
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