ATHENS 

The EU foreign policy chief on Monday said that the bloc is “alarmed” by Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

“We are … alarmed by the violence in the West Bank by the extremist Jewish settlers. We are also alarmed by the fact that the Israeli government has approved the construction of another 1,700 housing units in East Jerusalem to expand the (illegal Jewish) settlements,” Josep Borell said at a news conference following the meeting of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council.

Borrell also drew attention to the increasing civilian casualties in Gaza as a result of the relentless Israeli attacks and said: “The destruction in Gaza is even more severe than the German cities suffered during World War II.”

He said support for the Palestine Authority should continue.

Israel resumed its military offensive on the Gaza Strip on Dec. 1 after the end of a weeklong humanitarian pause with the Palestinian group Hamas.

Nearly 18,205 Palestinians have been killed and more than 49,645 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks on the enclave since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.