European Union To Call for Divided Jerusalem

The European Union is set to officially call for Jerusalem to be divided and serve as the capitals of both Israel and Palestine.

Israeli daily Ha’aretz said the declaration will take place next week, according to a draft document authored by Sweden, and obtained by the newspaper. Sweden serves as president of the E.U., a rotating position, until January.

The declaration is expected to be introduced on Dec. 7 at a meeting in Brussels of E.U. foreign ministers, which was scheduled to discuss the peace process and issue a statement on the body’s Mideast policy. The document also implies that the E.U. would recognize a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood, Ha’aretz reported.

“After the important steps taken by the government of Israel to enable the resumption of negotiations with the Palestinians, the European Union must now exert pressure on the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table. Steps like those being led by Sweden only contribute to the opposite effect,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Read the E.U.’s draft document on a divided Jerusalem here.