EU: Jerusalem Should Be Shared Capital
VOA News 08 December 2009
The European Union says Jerusalem should be the shared capital of Israel and a future Palestinian state.
EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels Tuesday issued a statement saying it would not recognize any changes to the pre-1967 borders. Israel captured east Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war and annexed it in a move that is not internationally recognized.
Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be their future capital.
But Tuesday's EU statement did not require that disputed east Jerusalem should be the capital of a Palestinian state. There was a furor in Israel last week when an Israeli newspaper reported that such a line was in a draft version of the statement.
Palestinian officials welcomed Tuesday's EU statement. Israel's Foreign Ministry said the European foreign ministers ignored the Palestinians' refusal to return to peace talks.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says peace talks cannot resume until Israel halts settlement activity in occupied territories.
The EU ministers also called on the Israelis and Palestinians to revive negotiations in an effort to reach a two-state solution.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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