The European Union (EU) has criticized Israel’s continuous settlement construction on Friday, warning that time is running out for the two-state solution with Israel.

EU Representative to the Palestinian Authority Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff confirmed that the Israeli settlement plans defy international law and destabilize the status quo.

“Israeli settlements are in clear violation of international law and constitute a major obstacle to a just, last[ing] and comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” he stated.

Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff visited some neighborhoods of the occupied East al-Quds. https://t.co/aagVrVs4iX

— Gertjan Souverein (@GSouverein) November 23, 2021

Burgsdorff, who led an EU delegation of representatives of more than 20 European countries on Sunday, on a visit to the old Qalandia Airport in the occupied Palestinian lands, stressed that the EU couldn’t “close its eyes” to the Israeli settlement projects.

Ynet News reported that Burgsdorff was referring to two settlement construction announcements recently made by Israel.

The Israeli news website stated that one is a plan to build close to 3,500 settlement units near the Ma’ale Adumim settlement, in the area known as E1 of the occupied West Bank.

#Israel has reached the final stage of severing the West Bank from Jerusalem, the European Union Representative to the Palestinian Authority Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff warned.

Watch his speech here, from @tovahlazaroff:

Read more: https://t.co/Mum3grEE5N pic.twitter.com/jSxzOSfjqY

— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) November 22, 2021

The other controversial construction announcement is the 9,000 settlement units planned for the Atarot area of East Jerusalem on the site of Qalandia Airport, which opened in 1924 and closed in 2000.

Palestinians have asserted that they want an airport to return to the Qalandia Airport site. The projects are illegal and against international law, Palestinian officials say, adding that they will end any possibility for a contiguous Palestinian state alongside Israel.

(MEMO, PC, Social Media)