‘Earthquake’ directive bans EU financial support to Israeli settlements
 The EU will block all future financial assistance to the Israeli settlement zones as they are illegal under international law. Israel, who opposes the directive, warned it will affect “all realms of cooperation” and create “bad blood” with the EU.The new regulation will come into effect on Friday and will “make a distinction between the state of Israel and the occupied territories when it comes to EU support.” It essentially means that funding, scholarships and cooperation will not be granted to any individual or organization in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights settlements.Every future deal that is struck with Israel will be required to include a written clause exempting the settlement territories from the terms of the agreement. The ban will apply to all areas beyond the ‘Green Line,’ which includes all territories acquired by the Israelis since the 1967 Middle East War.“The EU has made it clear that it will not recognize any changes to pre-1967 borders, other than those agreed by the parties to the Middle East Peace Process,” a copy of the guidelines seen by Reuters said. The move comes amid EU frustration at the ongoing Israeli settlement program in spite of international pressuresThe Israeli government reacted sharply to the new legislation, condemning it as an affront to their sovereignty. An Israeli official likened the new regulations to an “earthquake” that “turns understandings and quiet agreements that the [EU] does not work beyond the Green Line” into “formal, binding policy”. Prime Minister Netanyahu told the EU to pull out of what Israel sees as a bilateral issue with the Palestinians. “We will not accept any external dictates regarding our borders. This issue will be determined only in direct negotiation between the sides,” Netanyahu said in a public broadcast. He went on to stress that the EU should pay more attention to “problems that are slightly more urgent in the region, like the civil war in Syria, or Iran’s race to obtain a nuclear weapon.” Meanwhile the Palestinians have praised the new measure as a concrete step to protect their aspirations of statehood
[ed notes;more on this from zionist IMRA... A spokesman for the Delegation of the European Union to Israel told IMRAtoday that the Mount Scopus locations of Hebrew University and HadassahHospital both have a special status as they were "Israeli enclaves" from
1948 through 1967.Both institutions will continue to qualify for EU funding for activities on
Mount Scopus.http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=61531