EU report slams Israeli policies
- From: "The Palestinian" <faris.bila.jawad@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 26 Nov 2005 15:06:12 -0800
EU report slams Israeli policies
11/25/2005 9:10:00 AM GMT
European Union diplomats slammed Israel's policies in occupied Arab
East Jerusalem, saying that they are hurting the prospects of a final
peace deal with the Palestinians, according to a leaked copy of a
classified EU report, a U.S. newspaper reported.
The New York Times said a report by EU diplomats in East Jerusalem and
Ramallah to the foreign ministers of the 25-member bloc accused Israel
of applying tough measures in a bid to prevent the city from becoming
the capital of a future independent Palestinian state.
The authors of the report recommended that the EU demand Israel "to
halt discriminatory treatment of Palestinians in East Jerusalem,
especially concerning working permits, building permits, house
demolitions, taxation and expenditure," it said.
"Israel's activities in Jerusalem are in violation of both its
roadmap obligations and international law," said a version of the
report, adding that Israeli policies "are reducing the possibility of
reaching a final-status agreement on Jerusalem that any Palestinian
could accept."
The U.S.-sponsored roadmap peace plan demands Israel to stop the
expansion of West Bank settlements and calls for the establishment of
an independent Palestinian state.
Britain's political consul in Jerusalem, Ross Allen, said that EU
foreign ministers will adopt a detailed analysis on east Jerusalem at
their next meeting in mid-December which would then be made public.
"EU foreign ministers remain very concerned about the situation in
east Jerusalem," Allen said, according to AFP.
"De-facto annexation"
The interim report said that Israel's settlement expansion and the
West Bank separation barrier are aimed at expropriating Arab land in
and around the ancient city to "seal off most of East Jerusalem, with
its 230,000 Palestinian residents from the West Bank", warning that
Israeli policies will unleash "serious" consequences.
"This de-facto annexation of Palestinian land will be irreversible
without very large-scale forced evacuations of settlers and the
rerouting of the barrier," The Times quoted the report as saying.
"When the barrier has been completed, Israel will control access to
and from east Jerusalem, cutting off its Palestinian satellite cities
of Bethlehem and Ramallah, and the rest of the West Bank beyond.
"This will have serious economic, social and humanitarian
consequences for the Palestinians. By vigorously applying policies on
residency and ID status, Israel will be able finally to complete the
isolation of east Jerusalem."
Asked to comment on the EU report, an Israeli official said he hoped
the European Union would "move forward" in its attitude and
stressed Israel's determination that East Jerusalem remain part of
its united capital.
"The Israeli position is public and known. We say Jerusalem will be
the united capital of Israel in the framework of a final peace deal,"
foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev told AFP.
"We're hopeful that Europe will continue to move forward in its
attitude to the Israel-Palestinian issue and not return to the more
one-sided approach that we've seen in the past," he added.
Israel annexed east Jerusalem after the six day war and passed a law in
1980 declaring the whole city as its undivided capital. However, the
law and the move are not recognised by the international community.
The Palestinians want east Jerusalem, which Israel seized in the 1967
Mideast war, as the capital for their future independent state.
The area poses the most difficult challenge in the way of any final
status agreement because it houses sites holy to all the three major
religions in the region - Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Rafah crossing to re-open
The Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt will be
re-opened today, BBC reported.
An official ceremony will be held shortly after the re-opening on
Friday, but the crossing will begin to operate on Saturday.
Israel closed the Rafah terminal on Sept. 7 after it completed its Gaza
pullout.
The Palestinians want free movement in and out of the territory they
control. Israel claims that movement restrictions are vital for
security reasons.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
brokered an agreement between Israel and Egypt allowing vital border
crossings into the Gaza Strip to be re-opened.
According to the deal, there are limits to Palestinian authority at the
border.
Palestinians will control the border, but EU monitors will have the
authority to detain vehicles or individuals if they feel they have not
been properly checked.
Israeli security officials will watch all movements at the crossing on
television screens at a nearby Israeli base, but they will not have
veto power over individuals moving through, as they have demanded.
Although Israel will not supervise exports, the flow of goods into Gaza
will remain entirely under its control at the border crossing at Kerem
Shalom.
Palestinians will be allowed to travel in bus convoys between Gaza and
the West Bank starting in a month, and in lorry convoys a month after
that.
Gaza will also get a new sea port, but the Israelis have refused to
allow the international airport to re-open.
http://www.islamonline.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=10202
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