‘Same Old Blood Libel’: Israelis Blast European Plan to Drive Jews from Biblical Heartland

Forty Israeli lawmakers accused the EU of “blood libel” after a secret document was exposed, outlining European plans to help the Palestinians usurp territory in Judea and Samaria.

By United with Israel Staff

After Israel’s Channel 13 reported on a six-page leaked European Union (EU) document describing plans to facilitate a Palestinian land-grab in Judea and Samaria, dozens of Israeli lawmakers slammed the EU in a letter to its leaders.

“We were apparently mistaken in thinking that racist, religious hatred of Jews and Israel was a thing of the past,” states the letter, which 40 Israeli parliamentarians signed. “It saddens us to discover time and time again that under the thin veneer of the EU’s civility and manners and the seeming concern for human rights, the same old blood libels can be found, along with the same flames of primitive hatred that seek this time to persecute – not the individual Jew, but the tiny Jewish state.”

“The document completely ignores our people’s historical affinity to our homeland,” continues the letter, which referenced Jewish heritage sites and Israeli archaeological programs in Area C, according to a Times of Israel report.

Area C refers to the portions of Judea and Samaria that Israel controls under the Oslo Accords.

“This singular call has but one goal: to subvert the deep and indestructible bond between the Jewish people and its country and homeland,” added the letter from Israeli lawmakers addressing the leaked EU document, which bore the title “European Joint Development Programme for Area C.”

Among the letters demands are an end to illegal Palestinian construction, which European entities currently facilitate and finance, and an immediate stop to the destruction of the natural habitat and Jewish heritage sites.

The document in question was prepared by the EU Mission in Eastern Jerusalem and is reportedly classified as confidential or secret, JNS.org report earlier this week.

“The six-page document calls for mapping the territory in order to prove Palestinian rights to the land and monitoring Israeli archaeological activity, as ancient Jewish ties reinforce Israeli claims,” explained JNS.

In addition, the document proposes “strengthening Palestinian infrastructure” in Israeli-controlled portions of Judea and Samaria and “supporting Palestinians with legal aid.”

The EU responded to the Channel 13 report by refusing to comment on the document in question and repeating boilerplate statements about the Union’s “commit[ment] to a two-state solution with Jerusalem as the future capital of both states.”

In response, an Israeli watchdog called Regavim, which monitors Palestinian land-grabs in Judea and Samaria, commented, “The State of Israel must take decisive action against this brazen meddling and prevent the establishment of a terrorist state in the heart of the Jewish homeland.”

“The matter is nothing less than bizarre. The allies of the State of Israel, the European governments, are actively working to change the borders of our country. In the past, this was a reason for wars between nations,” added Shlomo Ne’eman, who heads the Gush Etzion Council and the Yesha Council.