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[Excerpts:]

The EU’s reliance on false information to frame its foreign policy recommendations adds to the existing friction between Europe and Israel, and is counterproductive to achieving peace in the region,” NGO Monitor’s president Gerald Steinberg told The AJN.

“These leaked documents, which violated the most basic tenets of due process and diplomacy, further inflame the highly complex issues they address, such as Jerusalem and Arab-Israeli citizens.” According to Steinberg, the fact that in this rare leaking of documents there is such a clear line from the Israeli and Palestinian human rights lobby and EU report-writing teams is alarming.

“This EU-NGO echo chamber is highly problematic and demonstrates the EU’s failure to develop an independent and reliable policy-making capability regarding these volatile and complex issues,” he said, adding: “The documents represent the tip of the iceberg for an influential EU-NGO network that produces reports and recommendations premised on inaccuracies and distortions.”