EU Plans Int'l Middle East Talks after US President's Jerusalem Move

Rasa - The European Union plans to host international talks on the Middle East crisis at the end of January following the decision by US President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

News ID: 435751

Date: 12 January 2018 - 08:39

RNA - The Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, which supports institution-building in preparation for Palestinian statehood, will meet in Brussels in late January, Daily Sabah reported.

The meeting was planned at the behest of EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini and Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide.

"There is an urgent need to bring all parties together to discuss measures to speed up efforts that can underpin a negotiated two-state solution," the EU said in a statement.

Trump announced early December 2017 that Washington would be recognizing Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital, stressing that the United States would relocate the embassy in the occupied lands from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds.

The move was hailed by Israel but condemned by the rest of the international community as one which undermines the peace talks.

Washington’s al-Quds move has raised a chorus of outcry across the international community. The Muslim world, the UN, world leaders from Europe to the Middle East to Australia, and even US allies in the West have criticized the bid, saying it would plunge the already tumultuous region into new upheaval.

Heavy clashes also broke out between Israeli troops and Palestinian protesters after Washington's decision in Jerusalem al-Qud's Old City, Hebron (al-Khalil), Bethlehem and Nablus in the West Bank as well as the besieged Gaza Strip.

According to reports, at least 700 Palestinians were detained by the Israeli forces since Washington’s move to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of Israel.

17 Palestinians were also killed in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank during weeks of protests against the Washington declaration of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, according to reports.

Also, thousands of Palestinians have been wounded by Israeli army's fire during demonstrations against the US President decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Also, the Palestinian ministry of public health in Gaza announced that the Israeli occupation forces use unknown gas bombs which caused cases of stress, convulsion, vomiting, coughing and rapid heartbeat among the Palestinian civilians. It stressed that the Zionist forces fire bullets directly on the Palestinian protestors.

The Israeli regime forces use brutal and excessive force against the civilians and the rescue teams as well as the medics, according to the Palestinian ministry which called for denouncing the racist actions of the Israeli authorities.

People in different countries have also hit the streets to denounce Trump's recognition of Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in a statement issued following an extraordinary summit in Turkey's Istanbul, declared East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine "under occupation" and urged the US to withdraw from the peace process and back down from its Jerusalem decision.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) overwhelmingly passed a non-binding resolution condemning Trump’s decision and called on states not to move their diplomatic missions to the sacred city. The UNGA vote followed the US veto of a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution.

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