EU seeks joint position ahead of UN vote on Jerusalem

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN

Germany on Wednesday repeated its opposition to the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and said EU members were discussing a joint position ahead of a key vote at the UN General Assembly.

Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Rainer Breul told a news conference in Berlin that Germany hoped EU states would reach a unified position before the vote on Thursday.

“The German government is aiming at reaching an EU consensus and voting according to this, as has been the case with similar resolutions on the Middle East. Consultations are currently underway,” he said.

Breul recalled that Germany, France, the U.K., Italy and Sweden already announced a joint position on Dec. 8, expressing their opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial decision.

The joint statement by five EU major powers underlined that "the status of Jerusalem must be determined through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians" leading to a final-status agreement.

"It is a constant position of EU Members that, within this framework, Jerusalem should ultimately be the capital of both Israeli and Palestinian states. Until then, we recognize no sovereignty over Jerusalem,” they stressed.

On Thursday, the UN General Assembly will hold a rare emergency special session regarding Trump's Dec. 6 decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocate Washington’s Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The U.S. vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Monday that rejected the establishment of diplomatic facilities in the contested city of Jerusalem, breaking with the rest of the council.

Fourteen council members voted in favor of the Egyptian-sponsored resolution that would have demanded Trump reverse course on the decision.

Jerusalem's status has long been considered a final-status issue to be determined by Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations and Trump's decision is widely seen as undercutting that long-standing understanding.

East Jerusalem, which Palestinians are seeking to make the capital of their state, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.