Former European leaders call on EU to enforce ban on Israeli settlements

Former leaders and senior officials from European Union member states have called on the body to stick to its new guidelines banning all EU members from funding Israeli projects in East al-Quds (Jerusalem), the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights, all areas occupied by Israel in the 1967 war. A letter, dated September 16, was sent to Catherine Ashton, EU foreign policy chief, and to all EU foreign ministers calling on the EU not to soften or delay new settlement guidelines slated to take effect on January 1, and in particular to ensure they apply the guidelines to Horizon 2020.  Horizon 2020 is a 80 billion euro R&D project, in which Israel's involvement has recently been called into question. The group includes former NATO secretary-general and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and former Spanish foreign minister Angel Moratinos, former French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine, and former British Ambassador to the UN Jeremy Greenstock. It's worth noting that US Secretary of State, John Kerry, has urged the EU to postpone its plan to ban the funding of Israeli projects in the occupied territories. Ashton said, in response to Kerry's urge, that the guidelines were simply "putting down on paper what is currently the EU position," adding that, the EU will be sending a team to Israel to ensure the guidelines are implemented "sensitively."