RAMALLAH, March 14 (Xinhua) -- A senior European Union (EU) official on Sunday said the Israeli policy of settlement in Palestinian territories is rejected and undermines the world-backed two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The settlement policy is "fundamentally contrary to international law" and "undermines the chances of the two-state solution on the 1967 borders," Shadi Othman, an EU communication official in Jerusalem, told reporters.
On Friday, the Israeli District Planning and Building Committee approved a plan to build 730 new housing units in Pisgat Ze'ev, a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.
Othman called on Israel, the international community, and all relevant parties "to work towards preserving the two-state solution and the possibility of implementing it in the future."
The last direct peace talks between Palestine and Israel, which were sponsored by the United States and lasted for nine months, stopped in 2014 due to deep differences over issues related to Jewish settlements, borders and security.
The Palestinians want to declare East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while Israel insists on having a unified Jerusalem as its eternal capital. ■
