European Union leaders have seemingly rejected US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, saying they stuck by their view that the city should be divided between Israel and the Palestinians.
“EU leaders reiterate firm commitment to the two-state solution and, in this context, the EU position on Jerusalem remains unchanged,” EU President Donald Tusk tweeted on Thursday after the leaders of the bloc’s 28 countries discussed the matter at a summit in Brussels.
EU leaders reiterate firm commitment to the two-state solution and, in this context, the EU position on Jerusalem remains unchanged.
— Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) December 14, 2017
The statement released by the EU leaders reportedly fell short of a sharper text lobbied for by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Israel had reportedly been working to try and torpedo the French text, and was helped by the Czech Republic and Hungary in softening it.
The EU has long maintained that the only way to peace is two states — Israel and Palestine — with Jerusalem as the capital of both and the borders returned to their status before the 1967 Six Day War.
Earlier in the week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the European Union and met with the foreign ministers of the 28 member states. Following their meeting, Federica Mogherini, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, gave the following press release:
