From: William Gladys <william.gladys@tiscali.co.uk>
Date: Wed, Dec 22, 2010 at 5:31 PM
Subject: Fw: EU to boost status of Palestinian diplomats
To: world_Politics@googlegroups.com
Cc: Al-Hilal <Al-Hilal@sky.com>
EU to boost status of Palestinian diplomats
Britain is preparing to confer diplomatic status on the Palestinian delegation in London for the first time, renewing fears in Israel that Europe is moving closer to recognising and independent Palestinian state.
The change of status is largely symbolic and stops short of recognising Palestinian missions as fully fledged embassies Photo: ALAMY
By Adrian Blomfield, Gaza City 9:47PM GMT 21 Dec 2010
The Foreign Office confirmed it was studying a proposal that would see Palestinian "general delegations" upgraded to "diplomatic missions" in a number of European capitals.
Coming just weeks after the collapse of direct peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian leadership, the move was immediately denounced by the Israeli government, which accused Britain and its European allies of undermining the peace process.
"This is really sending the wrong message and I think the Europeans should worry about the consequences of this," said Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry. "This will certainly not encourage the Palestinians to return to direct talks."
Although the change of status is largely symbolic, and stops short of recognising Palestinian missions as fully fledged embassies, Israel has launched a major lobbying campaign to stop the move out of fear of what it could lead to.
Following the collapse of the peace talks after Israel's refusal to halt Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank, the Palestinian leadership has stepped up its efforts to win European recognition for a state on land occupied by Israel in 1967.
But a Foreign Office spokesman said the upgrade did not "imply recognition of a Palestinian state," adding: "We continue to believe that the creation of a sovereign and viable Palestinian State alongside a secure Israel is best achieved through negotiations."
But even as the Palestinians were celebrating the fulfillment of a long-cherished ambition, they were rebuffed on a more important front after Washington told Arab states it would oppose any efforts to introduce a UN Security Council resolution calling on Israel to halt settlement construction.
The brewing diplomatic row with Europe came as Israel warned that the situation on its border with Gaza was deteriorating following an upsurge of rocket and mortar attacks in the territory. this week.
"The situation is tense and fragile and could easily deteriorate, particularly if a rocket lands in a populated area," Gen Gabi Ashkenazi, Israel's army chief, said.
A 15-year-old girl was wounded after a rocket landed near an Israeli kindergarten yesterday. Earlier, Israel launched air strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza. Further explosions could be heard in Gaza as night fell yesterday.
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