Europe Steps In to Pressure Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Palestinian counterpart Salam Fayyad have both been scrambling earnestly to win the backing of European leaders in advance of what could be a major EU policy shift that aims at creating new impetus for Palestinian-Israeli peace prospects. The incipient European initiative, inspired by Sweden which currently holds the rotating presidency of the 27-nation EU, calls for the division of Jerusalem and the recognition of occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state. Noting that Europe has never recognised Israel's 1967 annexation of East Jerusalem - a position shared by the rest of the international community - the draft European document states, "If there is to be a genuine peace, a way must be found to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the capital of two states." The Swedish draft strongly criticises Israeli policies in East Jerusalem.