EU's Kallas says Israeli settlement plan breaches international law

AL-Monitor
Aug 14, 2025
FILE PHOTO: European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks to the media as she arrives at the 5th EU-Southern Neighbourhood Ministerial meeting in Brussels, Belgium, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks to the media as she arrives at the 5th EU-Southern Neighbourhood Ministerial meeting in Brussels, Belgium, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo — Yves Herman

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday that an Israeli settlement plan is not in line with international law, and she called on Israeli authorities not to move ahead with it.

Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has announced that work would start on a long-delayed settlement that would divide the West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem.

"The decision of Israeli authorities to advance the E1 settlement plan further undermines the two-state solution while being a breach of international law," Kallas said in a statement. "The EU reiterates its call on Israel to halt settlement construction," she added.

(Reporting by Lili Bayer; Editing by Leslie Adler)