Pro-settler group urges British Israelis to ‘leave’ EU

JERUSALEM – An Israeli advocacy group that is allied with the West Bank settler movement is urging British-Israelis to vote in favour of leaving the European Union in Britain’s referendum this week.

Regavim says the European Union is biased against Israel and says voters should oppose the 28-nation bloc and try to weaken it by encouraging Britain to leave.

The group claims that European aid money to the Palestinians has reached terrorists, and that the EU is funding illegal Palestinian construction in the West Bank. It also alleges an EU rule labeling settlement exports to Europe is anti-Semitic, and that the EU funds hostile anti-Israel groups.

Josh Hasten, a Regavim spokesman, called EU policies toward Israel “aggressive and destructive.”

The EU, like most of the international community, considers settlements to be illegal.