EU still debating Hizbollah issue

European Union member states are still discussing whether to include the Lebanese Hizbollah militia organization into the list of terrorist groups, an EU spokesperson said here, Wednesday. "The debate among member states is till underway, so I cannot say anything more," a spokeswoman for European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton, Maja Kocijancic, told a news conference. "We need unanimity in order to adopt a decision," she noted. The spokeswoman said that Ashton will present a report on Syria to the EU foreign ministers who will hold their regular meeting in Brussels on Monday. "Preparations are still underway today and tomorrow. At the present moment, I cannot give you any more details," she said. Furthermore, Kocijancic said that the ministers will also discuss the Palestine issue. Contacts between Israel and the EU are continuing, she added, following angry reactions from Israel over EU guidelines to member states to stop funding for Jewish settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. The EU is expected to officially publish the guidelines later this week to limit "the application of agreements with Israel to the territory of Israel as recognized by the EU," which means prior to the June 1967 Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Golan Heights.