EU draft endorses East Jerusalem as Palestinian capital

Ha'aretz broke the news this morning of a European Union draft document that calls for a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The document says that a future Palestinian state should be made up of the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital; it reaffirms that the EU has never recognized Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem.

It's also sharply critical of Israel's policies in Palestine, and calls for an immediate resumption in peace talks to break the "stalemate" in the peace process.

The document will be discussed by EU foreign ministers next week. It was drafted by Sweden, the current holder of the rotating EU presidency -- and the Israeli government singled out Sweden for criticism this afternoon. (Sweden has previously been the target of opprobrium from Israel.)

"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," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Important steps" is, of course, a reference to Benjamin Netanyahu's partial settlement freeze offer. Netanyahu warned the Palestinians today that the freeze is a one-time deal:

"We took this step out of a deep desire to start anew negotiations for peace with the Palestinians," said Netanyahu.

Should the Palestinians not return to the negotiations table, he said, "We will resume building. The future of Judea and Samaria will be determined by a final status agreement and not one day before then," said Netanyahu.

The PA's observer at the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, reiterated today that Netanyahu's offer isn't enough, and called on the U.N. to take "immediate action" against Israel over its ongoing settlement construction and the detention of Palestinians.

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