Israel's Livni faces EU criticism over settlers

 
Israel's foreign minister sits through barrage of criticism levied by several EU lawmakers.

 
By Constatnt Brand – BRUSSELS

EU lawmakers told Israel's foreign minister on Tuesday that her country has to do more to stop the expansion of West Bank settlements.

Lawmakers at the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee said settlers' moves to defend their homes there were threatening Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, in Brussels to seek closer EU ties, said it was no longer official Israeli policy to expand settlements in the West Bank and the government has been trying to reduce them since peace talks restarted last year.

"We are not trying to use or abuse the period of time in which we negotiate in order to have more land, or to get more land from the Palestinians," Livni told members of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee.

Livni said "minor" efforts by some settler groups around the West Bank town of Hebron to expand their settlements would not derail peace talks or efforts to set up a Palestinian state.

Dozens of Jewish settlers rioted Tuesday in Hebron, clashing with the Israeli troops who guard them but who may also evict them from a disputed building they have occupied.

In two other West Bank villages, Palestinians said settlers burned animal feed and slashed tires to deter Israeli authorities from dismantling unauthorized settlements.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has urged the 27-nation EU not to upgrade ties with Israel as long as it expands West Bank settlements.

Livni sat through a barrage of criticism levied by several EU lawmakers.

"For us, the extension of settlers and colonists in the West Bank is not acceptable and does not allow negotiations to take place," said Belgian socialist Veronique De Keyser.

She also faced questions about what Israel was doing to alleviate the situation in Gaza, which is suffering from a shortage of fuel and basic items due to an Israeli security blockade imposed last year after Hamas, an Islamic group hostile to Israel, violently seized power in Gaza.

Livni said Israel was allowing in humanitarian aid to ease the crisis there.

Livni also met with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on including Israel in key EU projects. Israel is already involved in the EU's high-tech research programs but also wants a role in customs, environmental, health and other areas.

(AP)

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