‘We Should Give Peace A Chance,’ Netanyahu Tells EU Foreign Ministers
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks during a joint press conference with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini at the European Council in Brussels on December 11, 2017. Image by JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images
(JTA) — Israel is open to seeing what kind of peace plan the United States will put forward, Benjamin Netanyahu said.
“I think we should give peace a chance. I think we should see what is presented and see if we can advance this peace. But if we have to begin it, I would say it’s one place: recognize the Jewish state. It’s always been about the Jewish state. And it’s time that the Palestinians recognize the Jewish state and also recognize the fact that it has a capital. It’s called Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said Monday morning in Brussels at a meeting of the European Union foreign ministers.
“I believe that even though we don’t have an agreement yet, this is what will happen in the future. I believe that all or most of the European countries will move their embassies to Jerusalem, recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and engage robustly with us for security, prosperity and peace,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister praised President Trump for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying that Trump “put facts squarely on the table.”
Prior to his meeting with the EU foreign ministers, Netanyahu met with reporters alongside EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini who said the EU is opposed to changing Jerusalem’s status before a peace agreement is brokered between Israel and the Palestinians.
Mogherini reiterated the union’s principled opposition to a change in Jerusalem’s status before a comprehensive peace agreement.
“The only realistic solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine is based on two states with Jerusalem as the capital of both,” Mogherini said.
She also condemned “in the strongest possible way all attacks on Jews everywhere in the world, including in Europe, and on Israel and on Israeli citizens.”
She added that the European Union will redouble its efforts to relaunch the peace process.
