EU wants US pressure against convergence
European Union opposed to unilateral withdrawal in West Bank, hoping Americans will convince Israel to renew peace talks with Palestinians during Washington summit next week
"It is the EU position that we want a negotiated solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for EU security affairs Chief Javier Solana. "That is the position that we are going to continue to defend."
On Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said on a visit to Israel that a unilateral withdrawal will only strengthen Palestinian extremists.
An EU diplomat, who asked not to be named given the sensitive nature of the withdrawal issue, said Olmert's visit was "very important" because it might shed light on what Israelis have been calling the "convergence" Plan.
Few European diplomats believe the Palestinians would be content with such a pullout, especially as it will certainly deny the Palestinians a foothold in Jerusalem - wanted by Palestinians as their capital.
And speaking privately, European diplomats have also suggested that they feared that such a partial, and uncoordinated, Israeli pullout could lead in the immediate term to an outbreak of even greater chaos in the vacated territories.
Aid mechanism for Palestinians operative by next month
Meanwhile, donors and financial institutions will meet in Brussels next week to try to flesh out a temporary aid mechanism for Palestinians, still split over its scope and how it should work, diplomats said on Thursday.
Donors suspended direct aid to the Palestinian Authority after Hamas, listed as a terror group in Europe and the United States, won January elections. But fear of a humanitarian crisis has prompted them to work out ways of getting basic aid to Palestinians while bypassing Hamas.
Officials of the 25 EU states will meet on Tuesday and international financial institutions and donors on Wednesday to discuss the mechanism proposed by the Quartet of Middle East mediators, a spokeswoman for the EU's executive Commission said.
The Commission, which has taken on the lead in setting up the mechanism, aims to have it running by next month, but it remains unclear exactly what it will do and who will run it.
Some EU member states, including France, want a broad scope, channeling funds to pay salaries to keep health services, education and other social services running, diplomats said.
Others, like Britain, want the scope limited to health services, in particular emergency services such as blood transfusions, dialysis, bandages and training.
