Jerusalem at boiling point of polarisation and violence, says EU report

A hard-hitting EU report on Jerusalem warns the city has reached a dangerous boiling point of “polarisation and violence” not seen since the end of the second intifada in 2005.

Calling for tougher European sanctions against Israel over settlement construction in the city – which it blames for exacerbating recent conflict – the leaked document paints a devastating picture of a city more divided than at any time since 1967, when Israeli forces occupied the east of the city.

The report has emerged amid indications that the Obama administration is also rethinking its approach to Israel and the Middle East peace process following the re-election of Binyamin Netanyahu as Israel’s prime minister.

The report describes the emergence of a “vicious cycle of violence increasingly threatening the viability of the two-state solution”, which it says has been stoked by the continuing “systematic” settlement building by Israel in “sensitive areas” of Jerusalem.

The report also blames tension over the status of the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount complex, as well as heavy-handed policing and punitive measures – including evictions and home demolitions by Israeli forces – for the escalating confrontation.

The document is prepared every year by the heads of mission of the European countries represented in Jerusalem.

– (Guardian service)