JERUSALEM/BRUSSELS —Israel’s foreign ministry hit back Thursday after the European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini expressed “serious concerns” about United States President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“The insistence that Jerusalem is not Israel’s capital is a denial of indisputable historical facts,” a foreign ministry spokesman said.
“Denial of this simple fact distances peace by creating unrealistic expectations among the Palestinians. President Trump took a brave and just step that brings peace closer by speaking the truth.”
Speaking in the wake of Trump’s address Wednesday night, Mogherini said that the decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel “has a very worrying potential impact.” “It is a very fragile context and the announcement has the potential to send us backwards to even darker times than the ones we are already living in,” she said during a briefing at the European Commission.
“The EU position remains unchanged. The aspirations of both parties must be fulfilled and a way must be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of both states,” she added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a video posted on Facebook that Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was one of the monumental moments in the history of the state of Israel and the Zionist movement.
“There are great moments in the history of Zionism: The Balfour Declaration, the founding of the state, the liberation of Jerusalem and, yesterday, the Trump Declaration,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu said he had told Trump, “you are about to make history,” adding, “and yesterday he made history.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is in contact with other countries that want to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move their embassies.
Speaking at a Foreign Ministry diplomatic conference, he said: “We are holding contacts with other countries who will also recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. I have no doubt that when the US Embassy will move there, and even before that, many embassies will relocate to Jerusalem. It’s about time.”
Israeli officials said that both the Czech Republic and the Philippines were eager to move their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and that Hungary could make a similar announcement.
Also on Thursday, the Hungarian government vetoed a proposal calling on EU members to issue a joint statement lambasting the American move.
Two EU states have broken ranks on the US decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The moves, by the Czech Republic and Hungary, made it harder for the EU to claim it had a single position.
Hungary blocked an EU statement on Wednesday (6 December) that was to have voiced “serious concern”, diplomatic sources said.
The EU statement was reportedly to have been issued on behalf of all 28 member states, but due to Hungary’s opposition it was downgraded to a statement by EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini only.
The Czech Republic issued it’s a satement which said it “recognises Jerusalem to be in practice the capital of Israel”.
The Czech foreign ministry said its recognition covered only West Jerusalem “in the borders of the demarcation line from 1967”, but not East Jerusalem, which contains the city’s holy sites and which Israel is meant to share with Palestine according to EU and UN positions.
“The ministry can start considering moving of the Czech embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem only based on results of negotiations with key partners in the region,” it added.
Czech president, Milos Zeman, also blurred the EU line in remarks on Czech TV on Thursday.
“It [Trump’s decision] makes me truly happy … we may, sooner or later, follow the United States,” in also moving the Czech embassy he said.
Zeman spoke after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted on Wednesday that some pro-Israeli EU states were preparing to follow the US.
“We are already in contact with other countries which will issue a similar recognition [to Trump’s],” Netanyahu said at a conference in Israel.
Netanyahu is to meet with EU foreign ministers in Brussels during an informal breakfast on Monday.
He decided to come on the basis of an old Lithuanian invitation, diplomats said. His plan was to talk to EU ministers about Iran.
TPS contributed to this report.