EU must be firm in opposition to Israeli homes plan: Spain
(MADRID) - The EU must be firm in its opposition to the Israeli government's decision to approve the construction of new homes for Jewish settlers in east Jerusalem, Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said Thursday.
"We must be very demanding on this issue," he told a parliamentary commission.
Moratinos, a former European Union envoy to the Middle East, said he spoke to his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Liberman on Thursday to express his concern of the approval of the construction of new homes which he said jeopardised chances for peace in the region.
Spain currently holds the rotating six-month presidency of the EU.
Israel said on Tuesday it would build 1,600 new homes for Jewish settlers in mainly Arab east Jerusalem, and the announcement coincided with a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden to the disputed holy city.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly apologised to the vice president on Thursday in a bid to defuse the row over settlements, which prompted a Palestinian boycott of indirect peace talks.
Biden welcomed that but again criticised Israel's decision to approve construction of the settlements.
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