Israel’s Channel 13 News team on Monday night exposed a shocking document by the European Union revealing a plan to meddle in Israel’s sovereign affairs by secretly helping the Palestinian Authority seize land in Area C.
The six-page document was written at the European Union’s mission in eastern Jerusalem and describes how the EU plans to further expand the Palestinian Authority presence in Area C, which is territory that is under full Israeli legal and security control in accordance with the internationally-recognized Oslo Accords.
The targeted areas are those over which Religious Zionism party head MK Bezalel Smotrich has demanded authority in recent coalition negotiations.
Part of the document that was defined as “secret” was written a few months ago. Here are its main points:
* The European Union seeks to strengthen the Palestinian presence in Area C.
* The European Union will work to map the lands in the territories – not necessarily by itself, but rather through leftist organizations.
* The goal: to prove Palestinian Authority entitlement to the land.
* The EU calls to ‘follow and monitor’ Israeli archaeological activity in the field. The reason: this activity is used by Israel to justify its hold on lands in Judea and Samaria.
* The goal: to combine Area C with Areas A and B (Ed note: Areas A and B are already under Palestinian Authority control.)
The document also states there is a need for a common European vision and a more coordinated approach between the parties in Europe in order to maximize the ability to expand their involvement in Area C.
The plan points to the need to strengthen infrastructure for the Palestinians in Area C, providing legal aid and other measures that the European Union wants to carry out there.
It is also important to note that the document was written months before the elections in Israel, so it clearly is not related to any particular Israeli government.
Although the European Union’s position is not new, it is now clearly being carried out in practice, with an intent to increase and deepen its involvement in Area C even more than it has to date.
Officials in Israel were made privy to this document by the Israeli news team, and it is currently being examined, Channel 13 News reported.
European Union Response
In response to the report, the European Union said that “as a general rule, we do not refer to documents. The policy of the European Union is created by its 27 member states.
“Our policy has not changed – we are committed to a two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the future capital of both states.
“We call on Israel to allow a tangible improvement in the lives of the Palestinians, to enable Palestinian construction and stop the deterioration of living conditions for Palestinians in the field.”
Smotrich Vows to Fight Arab Land Grabs
In response to the report, Smotrich said in a statement, “The fight against the Arab takeover of the open areas in Judea and Samaria is one of the urgent and important challenges that the next government must address and is one of the main reasons for my demand to receive the authority for this in the Ministry of Defense.
“The blatant involvement of the European Union in the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to establish facts on the ground and unilaterally establish a de facto Arab terrorist state in the heart of the Land of Israel is unacceptable, contrary to international law and incompatible with basic rules of diplomacy in relations between countries.
“With God’s help, we will lead in the government that will be established a combined effort – diplomatic, economic, enforcement and settlement – against the hostile activity of the Palestinian Authority and international actors and we will stop it with determination.”
Regavim Responds
The Regavim watchdog organization responded with a statement of its own on Monday night, noting this is not the first time the European Union has been caught trying to undermine Israeli sovereignty.
“Once again, the facade has been stripped away from the “civil society,” “humanitarian aid” and “human rights” organizations dedicated to undermining Israeli sovereignty,” Regavim said.
“The European Union’s massive involvement in the Palestinian Authority’s strategic annexation of Area C was exposed, once again, on Israeli television this evening – precisely as Regavim has been exposing it since our 2014 report, “The Last Colony,” and in subsequent studies of the War of Attrition taking place on the ground in Judea and Samaria.
“The State of Israel MUST take decisive action against this brazen meddling, and prevent the establishment of a terrorist state in the heart of the Jewish homeland.”
