This article was originally published by Maan News and is republished with the author's permission.

The National Committee for Grassroots Resistance in Palestine on Thursday condemned recent discussions in the European Union (EU) on upgrading relations with Israel and urged the EU to act against Israel's ongoing human rights violations and settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In a statement released to European and EU representatives, the Committee said that while Palestinians appreciate the EU's longtime support for a just peace based on UN resolutions, they are dismayed at recent deliberations over upgrading Israel-EU relations.

The National Committee for Grassroots Resistance, which represents popular committees against the wall and local organisations engaged in nonviolent resistance in the West Bank, noted that Israel continues to disregard the International Court of Justice (ICJ) 2004 decision condemning construction of the separation wall inside the West Bank, and that the ICJ opinion recommended that states take punitive action against Israel if it failed to dismantle the wall.

As the Committee put it, "serious pressure should be put on Israel to bring an end to these illegal measures…Israel should not be rewarded for its unlawful practices."

The Committee added that Israel continues to pursue "expansionist, colonial, and discriminating policies" in the occupied Palestinian territories, including land confiscation, home demolitions, settlement and wall construction, Judaisation of Jerusalem, restrictions on Palestinian movement, exploitation of Palestinian water resources, assassinations and mass imprisonment. The statement warned that in the West Bank, Israel is establishing "an apartheid regime based on transforming areas into isolated ghettos and cantons."

Earlier in June, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad sent a strongly worded letter to the EU opposing any potential upgrade of EU-Israel relations while Israel continues to expand settlements in the West Bank and violate its commitments under the Road Map.

Israel is reportedly seeking to attain a status in the EU similar to that of Switzerland, which is not an EU member but benefits from a free trade agreement with the EU and easy access for its citizens to EU countries. As an interim measure, Israel wants to upgrade its relations with the EU under the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) framework, strengthening economic and institutional ties and enabling Israelis to receive EU research funding.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is expected to discuss EU-Israel relations at a meeting with EU diplomats in Luxembourg next Monday. Israeli press sources reported that a joint declaration on boosting ties, which Israel had been seeking, is unlikely given recent developments on the ground and disagreements among EU member countries.