EU urges Israel to halt settlement expansion

BRUSSELS — The European Union on Saturday urged Israel to fully respect international law and halt the expansion of settlements, according to posts by two Arabic-language news channels on Telegram. The posts were published at 10:26 and 10:27 GMT on 18 October 2026.

The posts quoted the EU's call in a brief headline. They did not include the full text of the statement, the name of the EU official who made it, or the forum in which it was made. The wording was identical in both posts, and neither post linked to an official EU document.

Neither channel's post was confirmed by an EU institution or another news outlet at the time of writing. It is not clear whether the statement was issued in Brussels, by the European External Action Service, or by an individual member state speaking on behalf of the bloc.

The EU has repeatedly said that Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory are illegal under international law. Israel disputes this position. The settlements are the subject of ongoing international concern, and the issue has been raised in previous EU statements.

Further details, including the full text of the statement and any Israeli response, were not available in the source material.