Skip to main content

Europe dismayed by Israel’s West Bank policy

Israel's recent expropriation of West Bank land has greatly angered European leaders, putting them on a possible collision course with Washington at a time when they are coordinating coalition building against extremist Islamists in the region.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel goes to shake hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) during a news conference after bilateral talks at the Chancellery in Berlin December 6, 2012. Merkel and Netanyahu agreed to disagree on the question of Israeli plans to build more Jewish settlements, the chancellor said on Thursday.    REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay (GERMANY  - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3B9OU
Read in 

Israel has stabbed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the back, say sources in the Italian Foreign Ministry close to Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, the European Union's next high representative for foreign affairs and security policy. They spoke of an unprecedented clash between Europe and Israel in the aftermath of the recent Gaza war. While Mogherini will attempt to present an impression of balance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the mood in Rome, as in Brussels, is one of great anger toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

The European leadership was dismayed at the Israeli government’s Aug. 31 decision to expropriate some 1,000 acres of West Bank land between Jerusalem and the Etzion settlement bloc. The move is seen as a blow of strategic proportions to the prospects for a two-state solution, a quasi-annexation making the contiguity of a Palestinian state in the Jerusalem area impossible.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.