Report: EU members weighing recognition of Palestinian state

Haaretz reports that the development is specifically in response to Trump’s peace proposal, Haaretz reported

Member of the European Union are weighing the possibility of recognizing a Palestinian state after US President Donald Trump released his administration’s vision for Middle East peace.

US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take part in an announcement of Trump's Middle East peace plan in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on January 28, 2020According to Israeli daily Haaretz, the initiative is being led by Luxembourg, which is reportedly planning to present a motion that recognizes Palestine during a meeting of European Union foreign ministers on Monday.

Luxembourg’s chief diplomat is said to have already held discussions about the resolution with her EU counterparts from Ireland, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Sweden, Malta and Slovenia.

Haaretz reports that the development is specifically in response to Trump’s peace proposal, which has been criticized as heavily biased in favor of Israel.

The Trump administration’s plan recognizes Israeli sovereignty over most of its West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley, as well as an undivided Jerusalem.

The plan also backs a Palestinian state with a capital on the outskirts of Jerusalem but says the Palestinian leadership must recognize Israel as a Jewish homeland and agree to a demilitarized state.

Although individual countries recognize Palestine as a state, the whole of the European Union does not, adopting the position that Israel and its Arab neighbors should settle their dispute via negotiations.

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