The European Union's decision to ban financing of or cooperation with Israeli institutions in the occupied Palestinian territories — namely illegal settlements — is a directive and a policy complying with all United Nations resolutions.

It highlights growing European impatience with US permissiveness enabling Israel to pursue proliferating settlements. US Secretary of State John Kerry is pursuing a futile attempt to revive a "peace process" with no clear and unequivocal admission by Israel that it is an occupying power and bound by the articles of the fourth Geneva Convention. Since June 1967, Israel has never admitted that it is an occupying power. So the ongoing proliferation of settlements is clearly one of a conquering power.

The New York Times, in its report June 16 on the subject, stated that the European measures "threaten to complicate (Kerry's) mission." The contrary is true. It definitely clarifies the legal basis for any consequential negotiations, and therefore the EU helps in this matter any serious mission undertaken by the United States!

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday (July 16) stated, "I cannot allow that hundreds of thousands of Israelis who live in Judea and Samaria, the Golan heights and Jerusalem be hurt in this way."