Netanyahu Seeks EU Recognition Of Jerusalem Status

 

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has called on European countries to follow the footsteps of the United States in recognising Jerusalem as his country’s capital.

President Donald Trump had last week declared that the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, rather than Tel Aviv, and move the U.S. embassy there.

Speaking at a joint news conference with the EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, on Monday, Netanyahu expressed his hope that “all or most” of the European states would move their embassies to Jerusalem, recognising it as the capital of Israel.

He claimed that recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was making “peace possible”, despite the fact that Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

According to him, Jerusalem had been the capital of the Jewish people for 3,000 years and Mr Trump had put “facts squarely on the table”.

“I believe that all, or most, European countries will move their embassies to Jerusalem, recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and engage robustly with us for security, prosperity and peace,” he said.

“Israel has extended its hand to peace to our Palestinian neighbours for a hundred years, well before there was a state of Israel and after it was established.

“There is now an effort underway to bring forward a new peace proposal by the American administration. I think we should give peace a chance,” he added.

However, Ms Mogherini said the EU would continue to recognise the “international consensus” on Jerusalem.

“We believe that the only realistic solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine is based on two states with Jerusalem as the capital of both.”

She also condemned “all attacks on Jews everywhere in the world”.