Illegal road construction in Area C
Illegal road construction in Area CISTOCK

A document drafted by the European Commission in Eastern Jerusalem calls for helping the Palestinian Authority actively take control of land in Area C, which is supposed to be under full Israeli control under the Oslo Accords.

A report by Channel 13 News revealed the document from which it appears that the EU will work to map land to prove Palestinian Arab rights there - without leaving traces of its activities. The document appears to point to the EU's use of left-wing organizations in Israel for this purpose.

The EU also calls for "following and monitoring Israeli archaeological activity in the area" - on the grounds that it is being used as a pretext for settlement building in Judea and Samaria.

The document also states that 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 involvement in Area C.

It was reported that Israeli officials received access the document and are currently studying it.

The European Union responded: "As a general rule, we do not refer to documents. The policy of the 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, enable Palestinian construction, and put an end to deteriorating living conditions for Palestinians in the field."

Chairman of the Religious Zionist Party, MK Bezalel Smotrich, responded, saying that, "the fight against the Arab takeover of open areas in Judea and Samaria is one of the most pressing and important challenges that the next government must address and one of the main reasons for my demand to receive 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 law, and incompatible with basic rules of diplomacy in relations between states," he pointed out.

"With God's help, we will lead a combined effort in the next government - diplomatic, economic, enforcement and settlement - against the hostile activity of the Palestinian Authority and the international actors and we will stop it with determination," he added.

Gush Etzion Council Head and Chairman of the Yesha Council Shlomo Ne'eman said: "The Arab takeover of Area C is the biggest strategic threat in our region. Its goal is nothing less than changing the borders of the country. Every week the State of Israel loses large areas, every day dozens of illegal homes are erected, roads are broken up and paved at significant points as part of an organized strategic plan."

According to him, "The document revealed tonight is important proof of what we have been strongly asserting for years: the European Union is working maliciously together with the Palestinian Authority against the State of Israel. The matter is nothing less than preposterous - our allies, European governments, are actively working to revise the borders of our country. In years past, this would be grounds for wars between nations."

"Tonight we are addressing the incoming government - the fight against the illegal takeover of Area C must be its first task. Leave everything else and preserve the nation's lands, because there is nothing more important. The Zionist movement began its journey with the liberation of land. The loss of land to the enemy is a serious violation of national values and the bankruptcy of the Zionist dream," he concluded.

MK Orit Strock of the Religious Zionism Party party called to put an end to the, "massive investment by the European Union in a subversive plan to establish a Palestinian state contrary to existing agreements and the law, and even worse, in cooperation with Israel's Civil Administration."

"This dangerous farce must stop, and it will stop: this is exactly what the elections were about, and we do not intend to give up the right and duty to protect all parts of our country against a hostile takeover," she said.

Regavim also issued a statement following the expose.

"Once again, the façade has been stripped away from the 'civil society,' 'humanitarian aid' and 'human rights' organizations dedicated to undermining Israeli sovereignty."

"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," it said in the statement.