Withdraw now or face EU sanctions, warns Prodi

Europe signalled a tougher line towards Israel yesterday with a warning that it should withdraw immediately from the West Bank or face a review of its special relationship with the EU.
Romano Prodi, president of the European commission, called for early talks with Ariel Sharon's government to discuss the EU-Israel association agreement, which provides for preferential trade and political dialogue. "The Israeli government must immediately pull out its forces from recently occupied territories," he said, warning of a "major humanitarian crisis" in the West Bank.

Mr Prodi's remarks followed weekend statements by several EU governments suggesting that sanctions could be imposed if Israel continued to defy US and European demands for a pullback.

Last week Mr Sharon rebuffed an EU attempt to broker a ceasefire by banning its foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, and Josep Pique, the foreign minister of Spain, which currently holds the EU presidency, from meeting Yasser Arafat, who is under siege by Israeli troops at his headquarters in Ramallah.

Mr Prodi reiterated the EU view that the Palestinian leader remained the only valid negotiating partner for an Israeli government which has dismissed him as an enemy. But he also demanded that Mr Arafat denounce terrorism.

"There can be no justification for suicide bombings killing innocent people," he said. "Terrorism puts the legitimate cause of the Palestinian people into jeopardy and you risk losing the support and protection of the international community."

Mr Pique said EU foreign ministers would discuss sanctions against Israel, if it went on rejecting calls for a ceasefire, when they meet in Luxembourg next week. European markets account for some 40% of Israel's trade. Be fore that the EU will try to coordinate its position with Washington when Mr Pique meets the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, in Madrid tomorrow along with the UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan, and Russia's foreign minister, Igor Ivanov.