Israel's listing of West Bank sites not helpful for peace, EU says

Brussels - Israel's decision to list sites in the West Bank as belonging to its cultural heritage will not help the peace process, the European Union's top diplomat said Friday. Israel's decision sparked anger across the Muslim world, where it was seen as a move to stamp Israel's authority on sites which are not recognized as Israeli under international law.

The EU's foreign-policy director, Catherine Ashton, "regards the recent decision by the government of Israel to add sites in Hebron and Bethlehem to the list of Israeli national heritage sites as detrimental to attempts to relaunch peace negotiations," her spokesman, Lutz Guellner, said in a statement.

The EU "calls on Israel to refrain from provocative acts ... recognizes the importance of these religious sites to all three Abrahamic faiths and supports the principle of access for all," the statement said.

The EU formally supports the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has repeatedly called on the two sides to restart peace talks.

But a number of member states have grown increasingly critical of Israeli policies in the West Bank in recent months, with some saying that the bloc should recognize a Palestinian state if peace talks do not restart soon.

The Israeli government announced on Sunday that it was going to include the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem on its list of around 150 heritage sites.

The move provoked widespread condemnation in the Arab world and drew concern from top UN officials including Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the head of UN cultural agency UNESCO, Irina Bokova.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/311528,israels-listing-of-west-bank-sites-not-helpful-for-peace.html.