A number of positive political developments have occurred between the Palestinians and the Israelis, but Israeli resettlement in the West Bank is a direct violation of the roadmap peace plan, top U.N. political official Ibrahim Gambari told Security Council members on Thursday. The government of Israel approved the repopulation of a settlement deep in the Jordan Valley by 30 families evacuated from Gaza in 2005; such a relocation is in violation of the roadmap, said Gambari, referring to the peace plan that advocates a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Gambari said the resettlement plan was halted due to international condemnation, but he noted that resettlement continues throughout the Palestinian territories. He cited official Israeli figures saying that West Bank settler population has increased by nearly six percent from 2005. Moreover, the government's pledges to remove outposts remain unfulfilled, he said. Gambari was also encouraged by the reported upcoming meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Davos, Switzerland. On his part, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, the Security Council president for January, told reporters that Israeli-Palestinian talks would be useful and said council members strongly support the upcoming meeting of the peacemaking Quartet, comprised of the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia. Churkin said that the Israeli-Palestinian consultations were a good prelude to the upcoming Quartet meeting.
