The UN special envoy to the Middle East urged Israel
on Wednesday to take further measures to bolster Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to sustain efforts to renew peace talks.
Michael Williams also urged Israel to agree to reopen crossings into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in order to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the overcrowded and impoverished territory.
"I'm concerned we haven't seen further steps. I would like to see further steps," Williams told reporters after meeting senior Israeli and Palestinian officials in Jerusalem and Ramallah.
"The (Israeli) prime minister has reported very successful meetings with president Abbas, I think that process needs to be sustained and it got off to a good start," he said.
"I would hope the Israeli government would consider further prisoner releases. I would hope something would be done with regard to the (illegal) outposts," said Williams, who is set to end his mission in September to become British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's advisor on the Middle East.
Hopes for a breakthrough in the long-stalled peace process were revived last June after Abbas sacked a government led by Hamas and appointed a moderate cabinet after the rival Islamist movement violently seized control of Gaza.
Israel has since agreed to take several measures of goodwill towards Abbas and Fayyad's West Bank government, including the release of over 250 prisoners from Abbas' Fatah movement and the release withheld tax revenue.
'We would like to see greater flexibility'
It has also repeatedly stated its intention to dismantle all illegal outposts across the occupied West Bank, but has so far removed only a fraction of the more than 120 settlements.
Williams also urged Israel to carry through its promise to remove several roadblocks across the West Bank, which impede the development of the Palestinian economy.
"An elementary constituent to economic development is freedom of movement and that to a very considerable extent does not exist in the West Bank because of the checkpoints and other obstacles established by the IDF."
Williams also urged Israel to open crossings into Gaza in order to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the territory which has been effectively sealed off from the outside world since the Hamas takeover on June 15.
"The economic situation shows considerable signs of deterioration... and we do not know how this can be changed short of the opening of additional crossings," Williams said.
"We would like to see greater flexibility with the crossings and especially with regards to the possibility of reopening Karni," the main artery for transferring goods into Gaza from Israel.
Israel has allowed the transfer of food and medical equipment into Gaza in recent months, but refuses to reopen the crossings as long as Hamas, which rejects Israel's right to exist, remains in power.
"While the humanitarian situation is being addressed, it is on an extra ordinary fragile basis. We saw in the last few days the interruption and breakdown of electricity supplies... anything like that could immediately endanger the humanitarian situation," he said.