The European Union’s top diplomat on Tuesday warned against “any action that would undermine” peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, saying the status of Jerusalem should be decided in talks between the two.
The remarks by Federica Mogherini, the high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, came as President Trump is weighing a decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city — a controversial move that would almost certainly complicate peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.
“We believe that any action that would undermine these efforts must absolutely be avoided,” Mogherini said in a joint media statement with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
{mosads}
“A way must be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of both states so that the aspiration of both parties can be fulfilled,” she added.
Trump is expected to formally acknowledge Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on Wednesday, despite warnings from political leaders in Arab and Muslim-majority countries, who have said that doing so could prompt upheaval in the region.
Trump has also vowed to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, though he is expected to temporarily punt on that move on Wednesday and sign a waiver keeping the facility in Tel Aviv for at least another six months.
Any decision by the U.S. to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would be rife with political peril. The city is home to holy sites for Christians, Muslims and Jews, and the Palestinians want to establish Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
While the Israeli government considers Jerusalem the country’s capital, the U.S. and the international community at large recognize Tel Aviv as Israel’s capital city.
Under the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act, the U.S. must move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, though the president can sign a waiver keeping it in Tel Aviv — a tradition that each president has followed.