The EU has condemned on Thursday Israel’s latest move to further expand illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

“The European Union condemns the planned so-called legalization of five Israeli settlement outposts and the announcement of thousands of new housing units in the occupied West Bank,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.

Also condemning Israel’s ongoing policies of dispossession in the West Bank, the statement added: “The ongoing efforts aiming at establishing facts on the ground and risking leading to a de-facto annexation must stop.”

The statement also warned that Israel’s policy of building settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories violates international law, worsens tensions, and damages efforts to achieve a two-state solution, and called on Israel to reverse those decisions.

“In line with its longstanding common position and UN Security Council Resolutions, the EU will not recognize changes to the 1967 borders unless agreed by the parties,” it stressed.

Israel’s Cabinet last week approved steps aimed at “legalizing” settlement outposts in the West Bank and imposing sanctions on the Palestinian Authority. (ILKHA)