Erekat denounces Czech ambassador’s visit to settlement

Member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Saeb Erekat, Wednesday denounced in a letter to European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton the Czech ambassador’s visit to Ariel settlement in the West Bank.Erekat said the visit undermines the European Union’s support of the peace efforts and a settlement based on the two-state solution on the 1967 borders.He said the visit came one day after Israel announced plans to build 1400 settlement units including 40 in Ariel. It also came one month after more than 28 EU foreign ministers had unanimously condemned the non-stop Israeli settlement expansion.The visit is against EU decisions, particularly the guidelines regarding financing settlements, which also means that visits to settlements are considered a breach to these guidelines, he added.Erekat said the EU should openly disavow itself from the Czech ambassador’s visit to the illegal Ariel University and to take the necessary measures that would prevent EU representatives and members from undermining the EU’s peace efforts that support the two-state solution.