US: the fate of Jerusalem should only be determined by “Israel” and the Palestinians in talks

"Our stance on Jerusalem is clear. United States policy remains unaffected and unchanged: As has been stated by every previous administration which addressed this issue, the status of Jerusalem, and all other permanent status issues, must be resolved by the parties through negotiations," the statement read.

"Israel" claims that Al Quds (occupied Jerusalem) is its indivisible capital, while Palestinians want the eastern part of Al Quds (Jerusalem) to serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.

On his part, Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh described the EU foreign ministers' statement as an "extremely important attitude."

"The EU ministerial council's decision on the Middle East and Jerusalem in particular implies a landmark and extremely important attitude," Judeh said in an interview with the state-run television.

Last week, Sweden exposed a draft document backing the division of occupied Al Quds (Jerusalem) and the recognition of East Al Quds (Jerusalem) as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Earlier Tuesday, "Israeli" Foreign Ministry officials expressed harsh criticism to the European declaration, saying that Sweden, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, had failed.
"The peace process in the Middle East is not like IKEA furniture," one official said, making a reference to the do-it-yourself Swedish furniture chain. "It takes more than a screw and a hammer, it takes a true understanding of the constraints and sensitivities of both sides, and in that Sweden failed miserably."

The "Israeli" Foreign Ministry said that Tuesday's EU statement was significantly softer than Sweden's initial draft, once again demonstrating Sweden's failure as the rotating president of the union."Sweden has done nothing over recent months to advance the Middle East peace process," the Foreign Ministry officials said. "The EU's only saving grace is that some of its members are responsible and moderate nations that didn't back the Swedish draft, which looked like something taken out of the Fatah platform at the Bethlehem conference."

The senior officials added that a group of nations had "saved the European Union from itself, since any other decision would have result in severe harm to the ties between Tel Aviv and Brussels, and would have stopped the EU from becoming an important partner in the peace process."

Meanwhile, the "Israeli" Foreign Ministry filed an official reply to the EU statement, claiming that the "European Union ignores the primary impediment to achieving a resolution between "Israel" and the Palestinians: the Palestinian refusal to return to the negotiating table."

"Given the "Israeli" government's efforts to renew the negotiations, "Israel" regrets that the EU has chosen to adopt a text that, although containing nothing new, does not contribute to the renewal of negotiations," the statement added.

"In light of the extreme draft originally presented by the Swedish presidency at the start of discussions, "Israel" does welcome the fact that at the end of the process the voices of the responsible and reasonable EU states prevailed, balancing and improving the text. We also welcome the recognition given to the measures and efforts taken by "Israel" to enable the resumption of negotiations," continued the statement. 

"We expect the EU to act to promote direct negotiations between the parties, while considering "Israel's" security needs and understanding that "Israel's" Jewish character must be preserved in any future agreement," concluded the statement. 

In a related development, occupied Al Quds (Jerusalem) Mayor Nir Barkat also issued a statement, saying that he "completely opposes the decision of the EU to support the division of Jerusalem," calling it a real danger for the future of Jerusalem and predicting that such a division would never work. Barkat noted that the recent celebration of the 20th anniversary of the reunification of Berlin reminds us that "no divided city in the history of the world has functioned properly."

The "Israeli" occupation of Palestine resulted in a wide-ranging conflict between "Israel" and Palestine, the key issue is Al Quds (Jerusalem).