What better day to herald to the world the birth of a new settlement plan than the day on which the world, the one that keeps bothering Israel with all sorts of peace plans, is enjoying its Christmas dinner? On Dec. 23, we published the stern warning of the European Union’s ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, to the effect that a declaration of massive construction in the settlements on the day of the third Palestinian prisoner release, scheduled for Dec. 29, as occurred after the previous two rounds, could severely damage the process.

“The responsibility for the damage would be put squarely on Israel’s doorstep,” the senior diplomat told Al-Monitor. This was the message, the ambassador added, that he and his EU colleagues had delivered directly to Israel’s top political echelons.

On Dec. 25, the Israeli prime minister’s office announced that this time, too, the prisoner release will be accompanied by construction permits in the settlements. (By the way, what’s the connection between the moral issue of releasing murderers and the settlers? Are they the only ones who deserve a consolation prize for the pain of the families of terror victims?)

A short while after the impending wave of settlements was announced, I met the young foreign minister of Romania, Titus Corlatean, 45, one of the leaders of his country’s Social Democrat Party. The minister was a guest at the Tel Aviv home of his friend, the Romanian-born former Knesset member Colette Avital, director of foreign affairs for the Meretz Party. Earlier, he had met in Bethlehem with the Palestinian leadership, which came there to pay its respects to the Christian community on its festive day.