Tuesday, July 16, 2013

EU Deals Will Force Israel to Admit West Bank Outside State

Curt Here...

A new EU directive with Israel that goes into effect Friday, will require that all contracts between EU member states and Israel will carry a clause stating that East Jerusalem and the West Bank are not part of the State Of Israel.

This new directive goes into effect Friday and lasts until 2020.  This directive will run for the next 7 years.   I am convinced that this "clause" is tied to previously signed agreements between the EU and Israel, most notably the ENP.  The ENP is a 7 year agreement between the EU and Israel that started in 2006 and ends in December of 2013.  One of its requirements is that Israel must make progress towards peace with the Palestinians.   The next ENP is scheduled to begin in 2014 and runs through 2020.  

I think the EU is forcing Israel's hand and is tired of waiting on Israel to agree to a two state solution.  This should be watched very closely, as this could turn out to be very significant.

Stay Tuned
Curt


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New directive, to go into effect Friday, will put areas over Green Line outside EU agreements, Haaretz reports; Jerusalem source calls move ‘earthquake’

A new directive published by the European Union will require contracts between EU member countries and Israel to include a clause stating that East Jerusalem and the West Bank are not part of the State of Israel, it was reported on Tuesday.

The directive, to go into effect on Friday, would leave any the West Bank and East Jerusalem outside any agreement signed between Israel and the EU and forces the Israeli government to acknowledge in writing that its settlements in the territories are not part of the state, a senior Israeli official told Haaretz, which first reported on the story Tuesday morning.

The anonymous official described the ruling as an “earthquake” which turned “understandings and quiet agreements that the Union does not work beyond the Green Line” into “formal, binding policy.” One Israeli official told Haaretz that “we are not ready to sign on this clause” in future agreements with the EU, and said that pushing back could cause a “halt to all cooperation in economics, science, culture, sports and academia” with Europe, which “would cause severe damage to Israel.”.......

The new directive, initiated in December by the EU foreign ministers, is “in conformity with the EU’s longstanding position that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and with the non-recognition by the EU of Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied territories, irrespective of their legal status under domestic Israeli law,” the EU said in a statement.

The directive, to be in effect until 2020, are designed in part to stave-off a general boycott of Israel and to ensure that Israel’s participation in EU projects is “not put in question,” the EU told Haaretz. Reportedly, the cause is already affecting negotiations over a proposed Israeli-EU youth project.

For more go here...http://www.timesofisrael.com/future-eu-deals-will-force-israel-to-admit-west-bank-outside-state/#comments