BRUSSELS (AP) - The European Union warned Israel of unspecified consequences Monday if it goes through with plans to build thousands of new settler homes in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The bloc's 27 foreign ministers said they were "deeply dismayed" by Israeli plans to expand settlements in East Jerusalem and particularly the E1 project, which would separate the West Bank from east Jerusalem, the Palestinians' hoped-for capital, and drive a big wedge between the northern and southern flanks of the West Bank.
"The E1 plan, if implemented, would seriously undermine the prospects of a negotiated resolution of the conflict by jeopardizing the possibility of a contiguous and viable Palestinian state and of Jerusalem as the capital of two states," said the ministers said in a joint statement. "It could also entail forced transfer of civilian populations."
The EU views any Israeli settlements on territory occupied during the 1967 Mideast war as a breach of international law.
"The EU will closely monitor the situation and its broader implications and act accordingly," the ministers said.
The new settlement plans have drawn widespread international condemnation, with the U.S. also urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call off the plans.
The Israeli government reacted by calling the EU focus "mistaken."
"Facts and history both prove that Jewish settlement never constituted an obstacle to peace," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor. "Therefore, the EU's focus on this issue is mistaken."
Netanyahu also decried what he saw as a double standard.
"We cannot accept that when Jews build homes in their ancient capital, Jerusalem, the international community has no problem finding its voice, but when Palestinian leaders openly call for the destruction of Israel, the one and only Jewish state, the world is silent," Netanyahu said Monday.
But Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said Europe's political view of the Mideast had changed profoundly since Israel announced plans to build 3,000 new settler homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Bildt, speaking as ministers gathered for Monday's meeting, said the Israeli plans had caused "extreme concern" in Europe.
"What the Israelis did on E1 has shifted opinions in Europe," Bildt said. "I don't think the Israelis are aware of this."