TIL Desk/World/Brussels/ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he expected Europe to follow the US in recognising Jerusalem as the Jewish state’s capital, but the EU’s diplomatic chief said there was no change to its stance on the holy city.
Netanyahu said the controversial announcement by US President Donald Trump – which prompted diplomatic alarm and street protests across the Islamic world – had “put facts squarely on the table”.
As he arrived for talks in Brussels, Netanyahu said he expected “all or most” European countries would follow the US — but the 28-nation bloc’s foreign policy head Federica Mogherini said its position remained that Jerusalem should be a capital for both Israelis and Palestinians.
The EU expressed alarm last week at the US decision, but Netanyahu said Trump had simply stated facts by acknowledging that Jerusalem had been the capital of the Israeli state for 70 years and of the Jewish people for 3,000 years.
“It doesn’t obviate peace, it makes peace possible, because recognising reality is the substance of peace, it’s the foundation of peace,” he said in a statement alongside Mogherini ahead of a breakfast meeting with EU foreign ministers.
“I believe that all or most of the European countries will move their embassies to Jerusalem, recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and engage robustly with us for security, prosperity and peace,” Netanyahu said.
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