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Why Does the EU Involve Itself in Israeli Building Plans in Its Capital?

(Jerusalem Post) Editorial - On Monday, an EU delegation led by EU Representative Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff visited the Givat Hamatos hilltop in Jerusalem to make known their opposition to planned housing construction at the site. Their visit raises questions as to why they are involved in the first place in a matter involving Israeli building plans in its capital, Jerusalem. While the construction of 1,200 housing units is portrayed as a "settlement," the reality on the ground does not mesh with these claims. Givat Hamatos is inside Jerusalem's municipal boundaries, it is not a settlement, and it is surrounded by civilian neighborhoods. Housing has been planned here for years to alleviate the city's growing housing need, and people already live in the area. It is asserted that the area, if built on, somehow changes the two-state solution. It does not. Givat Hamatos is geographically part of Jerusalem and not some area that is negotiable with the Palestinians. There has already been widespread building in nearby areas. The sudden, heated rhetoric about this area appears more political than based in reality, manufactured to create a headache for the incoming U.S. administration. It is important to ask why a relatively small number of homes in this one area is of such great importance. While millions have been forced to become refugees in Syria, while Turkey is involved in ethnic cleansing in Afrin and northern Syria, and a war between Azerbaijan and Armenia has displaced thousands, it is worth wondering why European officials once again single out Israel.
2020-11-19 00:00:00
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