TEHRAN – The European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief assured PresidentMahmoud Abbas at a meeting in Brussels on Monday that the EU supported hisambition to have East Jerusalem as capital of a Palestinian state.
Abbas in return repeated his call for East Jerusalem as capital as he urgedthe EU member nations to recognize a state of Palestine immediately,arguing that this would not disrupt negotiations with Israel on a peacesettlement for the region, Reuters reported.
Mogherini, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to US President DonaldTrump’s recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, called on thoseinvolved in the process to speak and act “wisely”, with a sense ofresponsibility.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki said Sunday that Abbas will tellthe EU it should take the step “as a way to respond” to US President DonaldTrump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.
Abbas will also “reiterate his commitment to the peace process” in theMiddle East, Malki added.
“If the Europeans want to be a player then they have to be fair in theirtreatment of both parties and this should start with the recognition of thestate of Palestine,” he stressed.
Abbas had said that Trump’s so-called Middle East peace efforts are the”slap of the century” after his recognition of Jerusalem al-Quds asIsrael’s capital.
US President announced early December 2017 that Washington would berecognizing Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital, stressing that theUnited States would relocate the embassy in the occupied lands from TelAviv to Jerusalem al-Quds.
The move was hailed by Israel but condemned by the rest of theinternational community as one which undermines the peace talks.
Washington’s al-Quds move has raised a chorus of outcry across theinternational community. The Muslim world, the UN, world leaders fromEurope to the Middle East to Australia, and even US allies in the West havecriticized the bid, saying it would plunge the already tumultuous regioninto new upheaval.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in a statement issuedfollowing an extraordinary summit in Turkey’s Istanbul, declared EastJerusalem the capital of Palestine “under occupation” and urged the US towithdraw from the peace process and back down from its Jerusalem decision.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) overwhelmingly passed anon-binding resolution condemning Trump’s decision and called on states notto move their diplomatic missions to the sacred city. The UNGA votefollowed the US veto of a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution.