Statement by the Spokesperson on the settlements in Ramat Shlomo

The Jerusalem Municipality has announced, on the 25 November 2016, that it will advance plans for 500 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo, East Jerusalem. It would affect land privately owned by Palestinians, and extend the settlement northeast, further encroaching on Palestinian inhabited areas, while linking to expansion of a neighbouring Israeli settlement to the west.

For the European Union, as stated in the Quartet report of July 2016, the settlement policy, designation of land for exclusive Israeli use and the denial of Palestinian development are steadily eroding the viability of the two-state solution and represent a threat to achieving a negotiated peace.