EU ready to recognize East Jerusalem as Palestinian capital

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"The foreign ministers of the European Union are expected to endorse a document prepared by the Swedish EU presidency which calls for East Jerusalem to become the capital of a future Palestinian state, the newspaper ‘Haaretz’ reports. A draft document implies that the EU would recognize a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood, the paper writes. Israel’s Foreign Ministry is reportedly concerned that the call for East Jerusalem to be the capital of an independent Palestinian state is not coupled with a call to recognize West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

"The move being led by Stockholm damages the European Union's ability to take part and be a significant element in the mediation efforts between Israel and the Palestinians," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Yossi Levy. He said that after the significant steps that Israel had taken to enable to renew negotiations with the Palestinians, "the Europeans should be pressuring the Palestinians to return to the negotiation table. These types of moves being led by Sweden bring about the opposite result."

On the backdrop of the stalemate in the peace process, the Palestinian Authority has been working more intensely to have an independent state unilaterally declared. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said two weeks ago that the Palestinian leadership planned to gain international support before appealing to the UN Security Council for recognition of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The United States and European Union, however, expressed their objection to this move, claiming it was premature. "I don't think we are there yet," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said several days after the offer was made.

http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/main/showNews/id/8685

[mdmc]

1. Perhaps Israel and Palestine should be able to join NATO

They both owe their existence to WWII and to the NATO powers that be. Let NATO take over the defense of these nations..

k/r - thanks for the OP and link

[imdjh]

2. That and fifty cents will get you a phone call.

[Violet_Crumble]

3. That foreign ministry spokesman's not the brightest bulb in the pack...

"The move being led by Stockholm damages the European Union's ability to take part and be a significant element in the mediation efforts between Israel and the Palestinians," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Yossi Levy.

Ah, so pointing out what any true moderate knows must happen and to be opposed to the hardline unified Jerusalem as the capital of Israel crap makes the EU unable to mediate, but years and years of the US blindly supporting Israel didn't make them unsuitable to be mediators? Sounds like someone wants things all one way...

[Scurrilous]

4. EU envoys: Israel trying to sever East Jerusalem from West Bank

<snip>

"A classified report drafted by European consuls in East Jerusalem and Ramallah slams Israeli policy in East Jerusalem and recommends that the European Union take steps to strengthen the Palestinian Authority's status in the city. It also advises taking various measures to protest Israeli policy in the city, as well as sanctions against people and groups involved in "settlement activity" in and around it.

The report, a copy of which was obtained by Haaretz, is updated annually by EU representatives to the PA. This year's report was completed on November 23 and presented to EU institutions in Brussels a few days ago.

Due to the sensitivity of the document, the EU has never before published it, and in previous years Israel pressed the EU hard not to do so, for fear the publication would further undermine the European public's already negative view of Israel.

Senior Foreign Ministry officials said this year's report "left a harsh impression" in Brussels and helped Sweden promote its plan to have the EU formally recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.

The report accused both the Israeli government and the Jerusalem municipality of working deliberately to alter the city's demographic balance and sever East Jerusalem from the West Bank. It said that both bodies assist right-wing organizations, such as Ateret Cohanim and Elad, in their efforts to implement this "strategic vision," especially around the Holy Basin area. These organizations buy houses in Arab neighborhoods, and make "attempts to implant further Jewish settlements into the heart of the Muslim Quarter."

The municipality, the report continued, discriminates against the city's Arab residents with regard to building permits, health services, education, sanitation and more."

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