European Commission Says Illegal Israeli Settlements Strangle the Palestinian Economy

European Commission: Settlements strangle Palestinian economy

Date: 06 / 07 / 2009 Time: 14:09
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies -

The legislative arm of the European Union on Monday sharply rebuked the illegal Israeli settlement-building in the occupied West Bank, according to the AP.

The European Commission said Israel's policy of refusing to dismantle the Israeli settlements built illegally on Palestinian lands is strangling the Palestinian economy and forcing the Palestinian Authority to rely on foreign aid.

"[I]t is the European taxpayers who pay most of the price of this dependence," including US 280 million dollars so far this year, because settlements prevent the PA from functioning normally, the commission said, according to the AP.

Among its complaints included the expropriation of privately owned Palestinian land for illegal West Bank settlements and the existence of a network of roads open only to settlers and Israelis, as well as the hundreds of checkpoints throughout the territory.

The European Union is among the largest donors to the Palestinian National Authority.

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