There is unprecedented concern and alarm at European Union headquarters with Israel’s accelerated settlement and annexation policies.

EU leadership and some of its leading member states consider themselves as the real architects of UN Security Council Resolution 2334 on the Israeli settlements. Indeed, France joined forces with Egypt and the Palestinians for the drafting of the resolution proposal — with the United States being informed. From the French point of view, the upcoming Jan. 15 Paris Conference, the July Quartet report and the Security Council resolution are part of an ensemble of moves designed to revive a two-state solution process.

A senior official close to High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the Quartet report and the Security Council resolution serve as a basis for the EU’s 2017 policies on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. In that respect, the Dec. 28 speech by US Secretary of State John Kerry correlated perfectly with the EU stance. According to the EU official, “Secretary Kerry reflected the EU consensus on the permanent status issue, although some European states, such as Spain, take more pro-Palestinian positions.”

The official added that the EU shares Kerry’s alarmism on the new Israeli annexation policies, stating that “this tendency is a dangerous watershed, as reflected by the [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu initiated settlement legalization bill. The EU is determined to prevent Israeli annexation measures, using all the means at its disposal.”