Middle East Inside Line: Israel Criticised by EU and UN over Settlements Policy

On Friday, both the European Union and the United Nations criticized Israel for its settlement policy. The EU condemned the government's decision to include West Bank settlements in the the National Priority Map as a contradiction of its pledge for a 10-month moratorium. The Israeli Cabinet had voted on Sunday to include 120,000 settlers, living in 86 out of the 121 settlements, in the Map; many of the settlements are outside the security barrier being constructed by Israel in the occupied West Bank territory.

The Swedish Presidency of the EU declared, "This decision runs counter to the spirit of the settlement freeze. It also prevents the creation of an atmosphere conducive to resuming negotiations on a two-state solution." In response, Israel's Foreign Ministry said the EU's position was exacerbating the disagreement between the two sides, instead of promoting peace and working towards the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Palestine Inside Line: Hamas Moves to “Liberation” of West Bank from Abbas and Israel

This was not the end of a bad day for the officials in Israel. Robert Serry, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, criticised the 10-month moratorium, claiming the temporary freeze in the settlements undermined Israel's commitments in the 2003 Road Map. He added:

We are in a race against time to overcome the contradictions on the ground, and the crisis of confidence between the parties, and move decisively toward a political endgame.

The situation is serious. We need, we urgently need, to see some progress in the new year. We continue to appeal to the government of Israel to allow the United Nations actually to start doing some real reconstruction, genuine reconstruction, in Gaza. UN agencies are doing what they can to help the population in the coming winter.

Serry was also critical of Israel's linkage of the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier detained by Hamas, and its Gaza policy:

I am hopeful, if he is released, we will be able to immediately resume these projects. Israel is publicly on record that as long as Schalit is not released, they are not willing to allow significant amounts of construction materials in. Let me add here that this linkage is not accepted by the UN.

Palestine Inside Line: Hamas Moves to "Liberation" of West Bank from Abbas and Israel

On Monday afternoon, during the celebration of Hamas's 22nd anniversary, Gazan Prime Minister Ismail Haniya said that gaining control of the Gaza Strip was "just a step toward liberating all of Palestine".



Criticising Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the Obama Administration, Haniya said, "This movement liberated the Gaza Strip with the help of the militant factions. Brothers and sisters, we will not be satisfied with Gaza. Hamas looks toward the whole of Palestine."

Palestine Inside Line: Abbas Term Extended Indefinitely
Israel-Palestine Analysis: Did Britain Just Endorse Israel’s “Moral” War in Gaza?

This is not the end of the "liberation" story. A day before the celebration in the Gaza Strip, Hamas political director Khaled Meshaal was in Tehran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad praised the "resistance" of Hamas and welcomed the "liberation project of the Palestinian lands from Israel". Ahmadinejad said:

Today Palestine is the symbol of the global front of freedom-seekers and resistance. The government and the people of Iran will always stand by the Palestinian resistance and the Palestinian people. Palestinians will continue resistance against Israel until their land is liberated.

And Hamas was quick to seize on an opportunity to claim its leadership of all of Palestine. Responding the PLO Central Council's resolution calling on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to stay in power until new elections are held in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Hamas declared that the resolution was "illegal" and a "coup against the Palestinian constitution".

Hamas's "liberation" mission is turning to the West Bank, whose leadership is seen as the "collaborator" of the main enemy, Israel. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum pressed the case in the response to the PLO announcement:

This is an illegal decision and a political bribe to cover up for the fact that Abbas's term in office had expired a long time ago. Abbas's term in office expired and no one has the right to extend his mandate.

Israel and Britain: An Arrest Warrant against Tzipi Livni?

On Monday, senior Israeli officials confirmed that a British court had issued an arrest warrant against opposition chairwoman Tzipi Livni for her role in the offensive in the Gaza Strip a year ago. British sources later added that the warrant was annulled when it was discovered Livni was not in Britain.

Livni was invited a month ago to address the Jewish National Fund UK's annual conference in London, but two weeks ago she turned down the invitation, supposedly because British Prime Minister Gordon Brown would be abroad at the time. Yesterday's news raises another possibility why she never made the journey.

Both Livni's office and the British Foreign Office rejected the reports. Livni's office said in a statement:

The opposition leader is proud of all her decisions connected to Operation Cast Lead. The operation achieved its goal of defending the people of Israel and restoring Israel's deterrence. Livni will continue presenting her view everywhere around the world.

Palestine: Abbas Clings to His Office — Indefinitely?

The Foreign Office asserted:

The UK is determined to do all it can to promote peace in the Middle East and to be a strategic partner of Israel. To do this, Israel's leaders need to be able to come to the UK for talks with the British government. We are looking urgently at the implications of this case.