SWEDEN’S EU presidency has proposed a division of Jerusalem in any peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians, prompting a frosty response from Israel’s foreign ministry.
In a document circulated to EU foreign ministers, Sweden explicitly says East Jerusalem should be the capital of an independent Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution to the stalemate in the Middle East peace process.
The proposal, leaked to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, is included in draft conclusions to be adopted by EU foreign ministers after a meeting in Brussels early next week. The draft says: “The European Union calls for an urgent resumption of negotiations that will lead, within an agreed timeframe, to a two-state solution with an independent, democratic, contiguous and viable state of Palestine, comprising the West Bank and Gaza and with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side in peace and security with the state of Israel.” The draft reflects the outcome of a preliminary diplomatic engagement between EU members.
The Palestinian Authority did not formally comment on the draft as it does not react officially to speculation in the Israeli press, Palestinian media chief Ghassan Khatib told The Irish Times. He said this proposal is not new.
“When Israel decided to expand [the Jerusalem area settlement of] Gilo, the EU presidency came out with a statement that includes the idea that Jerusalem should be the capital of two states. This signified progress in the position of the presidency. But I don’t know whether the EU [as a whole] can agree on this position. Nevertheless, this is a positive development on this matter. It will encourage Israel to abide by [international] legitimacy.”
As Israel campaigns to have the reference removed or watered down, the draft will be discussed by EU ambassadors tomorrow and may well be reworked before ministers themselves meet.
A division of Jerusalem would be in keeping with Irish policy on the Middle East. With the current stance of Germany and the Netherlands unknown, however, it is unclear whether the draft would be supported by all EU members.
It is open to the ministers to adopt the draft or change it. Still, diplomats see the leak as a reflection of Israeli fears the EU would proceed to make such a reference as a means of stepping up pressure on prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to return to the talks table. As it stands, the draft marks a nuanced change to the EU’s position on Jerusalem because it deals directly with establishing East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital.
The current EU policy states that a solution should allow the city to become the “shared capital” of the two states. A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who took office yesterday, said there had been no change to the bloc’s policy.
“The process being led by Sweden harms the European Union’s ability to take part as a significant mediator in the political process between Israel and the Palestinians,” said Israel’s foreign ministry.
“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.”
Meanwhile, Hamas and Israel have identified 400 Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, captured by Hamas’s affiliates in 2006. Debate is focused on 50 detainees demanded by Hamas, including West Bank Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, Popular Front head Ahmad Sadat, several members of Hamas’s military wing involved in major bomb attacks on Israelis, and three women who organised operations which killed Israelis. In addition to the prisoners on Hamas’s list, Israel is to set free another 530 as “a gesture to the Palestinian people”. This would show that Israel is ready to address Palestinian concerns, since an estimated 800,000 Palestinians have been incarcerated during Israel’s 42-year occupation and 9,000-10,000 are currently in jail.
A German mediator has been shuttling between the parties to clinch the deal which Hamas minister Fathi Hamad said should be implemented this month.