(JNS.org) The European Union on July 19 issued a directive to all of its member nations that bans cooperation with Israel in Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights, all territories acquired by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War. According to the EU directive, forbidden activities for EU members will also include the awarding of scholarships and research stipends to Israelis living beyond the pre-1967 lines.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the EU directive, saying that his government “will not accept any external edicts about our borders” and will attempt to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians only through direct negotiations. Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Zeev Elkin, said the directive “fuels the Palestinian refusal to return to the negotiation table,” the Associated Press reported.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said the EU has exhibited bias against Israel “for not pressuring the Palestinian Authority to drop its pre-conditions for peace negotiations and end anti-Israel and antisemitic incitement in official Palestinian media.”

But while senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi called the EU’s decision the “beginning of a new era,” other Palestinians joined Israel and the Jewish world in condemning the move.

A senior Palestinian Authority official, who declined to give his name, told Israel Hayom on Tuesday, July 16, “We approached a number of [European] Union officials … to try and prevent the decision or at least to keep it unofficial. …It’s not just Israeli companies that are going to be hit economically, it’s also going to be disastrous economically and socially for the Palestinian community.” According to the Palestinian official, the European move will freeze joint projects, force employers to stop hiring Palestinians to work on joint projects with Israelis, and lead to widespread layoffs of Palestinians laborers working in Judea and Samaria industrial zones.

Sammer Darawsha, who works in a hothouse that is a part of a joint Israeli-Palestinian agricultural project funded by members of the EU and situated near the Halamish community, said the decision will “affect everyone, whether Jew or Palestinian. …If they take away our livelihoods and food, exactly what kind of peace will be here?”