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EU PROPOSES TWO-CAPITAL JERUSALEM
BBC NEWS
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/m iddle_east/8401913.stm
2009/12/08 15:52:28 GMT
European Union ministers have called for Jerusalem to serve as the
capital of both Israel and a future Palestinian state as part of a
negotiated peace.
The foreign ministers dropped an earlier reference stating explicitly
that East Jerusalem should be the capital of a Palestinian state.
Palestinians welcomed the statement. Israel said it contained
"nothing new".
Jerusalem's status is one of the most sensitive and complex issues
in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"If there is to be a genuine peace, a way must be found through
negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital
of two states," the statement from EU foreign minsters said.
"The EU will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders
including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the
parties."
ANALYSIS Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor The EU is trying to
strengthen Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. One EU diplomatic source
said that they wanted to give him "a ladder to climb down" to allow
him to get back to negotiations.
The EU has said before that occupied East Jerusalem should be the
capital of a Palestinian state, though never, EU diplomatic sources
say, in this forum.
What is most important about the latest statement is its timing. Hopes
that President Obama would be able to make quick progress towards a
peace based on Palestinian independence alongside Israel have been
badly dented.
The EU, along with the US and others, is concerned that a diplomatic
standstill plays into the hands of extremists and will encourage a
build up of tension leading to more violence in Jerusalem, Gaza and
on Israel's border with Lebanon.
Israel, which captured the West Bank in 1967, currently claims
sovereignty over the entire city, and claims it as its capital.
Its government welcomed what it called the "balancing and improving"
of the EU text, but said it ignored "the primary obstacle to achieving
a resolution between Israel and the Palestinians: the Palestinian
refusal to return to the negotiating table".
"Israel regrets that the EU has chosen to adopt a text that,
although containing nothing new, does not contribute to the renewal
of negotiations," it said.
Rafik Alhussieni, chief of staff to Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas, said: "The statement as a whole is satisfactory because it
says that Jerusalem should be the capital of both states and because
it refers to the land as occupied land... and mentions that the
settlements are illegal and built on occupied land."
On Monday, scores of Palestinians had protested at the French
and Swedish consulates in Jerusalem in support of the Swedish EU
presidency's proposal for an explicit reference on the east of the
city, AFP news agency reported.
" The Council is deeply concerned about the situation in East
Jerusalem... It also calls on the Israeli government to cease all
discriminatory treatment of Palestinians " EU Foreign Affairs Council
Israeli claims of sovereignty over Jerusalem are not recognised
internationally, and East Jerusalem is considered to be occupied
territory.
Palestinians hope to establish the capital of their future state in
East Jerusalem.
"The Council is deeply concerned about the situation in East
Jerusalem," the statement from EU foreign ministers said.
"In view of recent incidents, it calls on all parties to refrain from
provocative actions.
"It also calls on the Israeli government to cease all discriminatory
treatment of Palestinians in East Jerusalem."
The ministers said a recent Israeli decision to restrict the growth
of settlements in the occupied West Bank - though not including East
Jerusalem - was "a first step in the right direction".
But they also stressed that "settlements, the separation barrier
where built on occupied land, demolition of homes and evictions are
illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and
threaten to make a two-state solution impossible".
The Palestinian Authority has demanded that all construction is halted
before it will again attend peace talks.
BBC NEWS
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/m iddle_east/8401913.stm
2009/12/08 15:52:28 GMT
European Union ministers have called for Jerusalem to serve as the
capital of both Israel and a future Palestinian state as part of a
negotiated peace.
The foreign ministers dropped an earlier reference stating explicitly
that East Jerusalem should be the capital of a Palestinian state.
Palestinians welcomed the statement. Israel said it contained
"nothing new".
Jerusalem's status is one of the most sensitive and complex issues
in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"If there is to be a genuine peace, a way must be found through
negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital
of two states," the statement from EU foreign minsters said.
"The EU will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders
including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the
parties."
ANALYSIS Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor The EU is trying to
strengthen Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. One EU diplomatic source
said that they wanted to give him "a ladder to climb down" to allow
him to get back to negotiations.
The EU has said before that occupied East Jerusalem should be the
capital of a Palestinian state, though never, EU diplomatic sources
say, in this forum.
What is most important about the latest statement is its timing. Hopes
that President Obama would be able to make quick progress towards a
peace based on Palestinian independence alongside Israel have been
badly dented.
The EU, along with the US and others, is concerned that a diplomatic
standstill plays into the hands of extremists and will encourage a
build up of tension leading to more violence in Jerusalem, Gaza and
on Israel's border with Lebanon.
Israel, which captured the West Bank in 1967, currently claims
sovereignty over the entire city, and claims it as its capital.
Its government welcomed what it called the "balancing and improving"
of the EU text, but said it ignored "the primary obstacle to achieving
a resolution between Israel and the Palestinians: the Palestinian
refusal to return to the negotiating table".
"Israel regrets that the EU has chosen to adopt a text that,
although containing nothing new, does not contribute to the renewal
of negotiations," it said.
Rafik Alhussieni, chief of staff to Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas, said: "The statement as a whole is satisfactory because it
says that Jerusalem should be the capital of both states and because
it refers to the land as occupied land... and mentions that the
settlements are illegal and built on occupied land."
On Monday, scores of Palestinians had protested at the French
and Swedish consulates in Jerusalem in support of the Swedish EU
presidency's proposal for an explicit reference on the east of the
city, AFP news agency reported.
" The Council is deeply concerned about the situation in East
Jerusalem... It also calls on the Israeli government to cease all
discriminatory treatment of Palestinians " EU Foreign Affairs Council
Israeli claims of sovereignty over Jerusalem are not recognised
internationally, and East Jerusalem is considered to be occupied
territory.
Palestinians hope to establish the capital of their future state in
East Jerusalem.
"The Council is deeply concerned about the situation in East
Jerusalem," the statement from EU foreign ministers said.
"In view of recent incidents, it calls on all parties to refrain from
provocative actions.
"It also calls on the Israeli government to cease all discriminatory
treatment of Palestinians in East Jerusalem."
The ministers said a recent Israeli decision to restrict the growth
of settlements in the occupied West Bank - though not including East
Jerusalem - was "a first step in the right direction".
But they also stressed that "settlements, the separation barrier
where built on occupied land, demolition of homes and evictions are
illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and
threaten to make a two-state solution impossible".
The Palestinian Authority has demanded that all construction is halted
before it will again attend peace talks.