The Israeli government had decided to ban Palestinian officials from leaving to London to participate in the talks over reforms into the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and reviving the stalled Middle East peace process.

But the Israeli government has restricted the movement of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and banned Palestinians under the ages of 25 years old to leave abroad or in between Palestinian towns and cities in the West Bank.

Israel has also decided to ban members of the Palestinian Central Council (PCC) from Gaza and the West and abroad to attend a PCC meeting scheduled to be held in Ramallah on Thursday.

Moratinos said in a joint news conference with PNA Planning Minister Nabil Shaath in Ramallah after meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat that Europe "would ask Israel to end immediately all these new measures."

"We hope that the Israeli government would act to ease the life of the Palestinian residents in such dramatic and difficult circumstances. They can't move or go anywhere," said Moratinos.

Moratinos praised the Palestinian leadership manner to be involved in London talks that would be headed by British Prime Minister Tony Blare on Jan. 14-15.

"We still hope that the Israeli government would let the Palestinian delegation to leave to London as soon as possible," said Moratinos, adding that the European Union condemned the Israeli government's actions.

He said the success of the conference in London, where representatives of the Quartet Committee, namely the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, "would not be only to help the Palestinians, but it would be helpful for the whole region."

(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2002)