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Jack Straw shakes hands with Shimon Peres in this file photo (AP)
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| By Associated Press December 12, 2005 |
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The European Union on Monday decided against publishing a report on East Jerusalem that is highly critical of Israeli settlement activity and the security barrier Israel is constructing to keep out Palestinian attackers.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who chaired an EU foreign ministers meeting, said publishing the report now was inappropriate as Israel was heading for national elections and the EU does not want "to get embroiled in domestic (Israeli) politics in the run-up to elections."
Separately -- and coincidentally -- Monday, the EU published an annual report on the state of human rights worldwide that calls on Israel to "freeze all settlement expansion and halt the construction of the (separation) barrier inside the occupied Palestinian Territories, including in and around Jerusalem."
The EU decision not to publish the East Jerusalem report was welcomed by Israeli diplomats who have lobbied hard in Brussels in recent weeks against publication, saying the report is very biased against Israel.
Based on information provided by European envoys in the Middle East, it contained "very unpleasant language" about Israel and the security barrier without referring to terrorist activities Israel invokes as the reason for its construction, said an Israel diplomat who asked not to be named.
The report raised concerns about restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, Israeli settlements there and the impact of the security barrier on Palestinian communities.
Apart from the Israeli elections, EU diplomats said privately now was not the time to tangle with Israel so soon after it evacuated the Gaza in a move widely seen as having improved chances for peace with the Palestinians.
EU-Israel relations have been improving greatly of late.
After many years in which Israel balked at granting the Europeans even a minor security role in its conflict with the Palestinians, it has allowed European monitors to oversee the reopened Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
Israel did so after cautioning the Europeans against taking a stance that would damage ties.
Straw said in stead of publishing its East Jerusalem report, the EU will continue to press Israel on the plight of Palestinians in normal, diplomatic contacts and regular statements from the EU head office.
For both Israelis and Palestinians, the future status of Jerusalem is a politically sensitive issue. Both claim the city as their capital.
The EU annual human rights report -- covering the period from July 2004 to June 2005 -- looks at EU efforts to combat rights violations across the globe.
While it takes aim at Israel for violating the rights of Palestinians, it also calls on the Palestinian Authority to reform its security forces so "real action can be taken against groups and individuals" who commits acts of violence against Israel and distance the PA from the "accusation of ... sustaining an environment in which human rights are not respected."
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