EU to assess Trump's Middle East peace plan

By Fatih Hafiz Mehmet

ANKARA (AA) - The European Union plans to assess the Middle East peace plan unveiled by U.S. President Donald Trump, its foreign policy chief said Tuesday.

"The European Union will study and assess the proposals put forward. This will be done on the basis of the EU’s established position and its firm and united commitment to a negotiated and viable two-state solution that takes into account the legitimate aspirations of both the Palestinians and the Israelis, respecting all relevant UN resolutions and internationally agreed parameters," Josep Borrell said in a statement.

Borrell said the U.S. initiative provides an opportunity to re-launch urgently needed efforts towards a negotiated and viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The statement said the EU reaffirms its readiness to work towards the resumption of meaningful negotiations to resolve all permanent status issues and to achieve a just and lasting peace.

"It urges both sides to demonstrate, through policies and actions, a genuine commitment to the two-state solution as the only realistic way to end the conflict," Borrell added.

His statement came after Trump released his oft-delayed plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian dispute during a press conference at the White House, where he was hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Palestinian authorities were not represented.

During the news conference, Trump referred to Jerusalem as "Israel's undivided capital".

The so-called peace plan unilaterally annuls previous UN resolutions on the Palestinian issue and gives Israel pretty much everything they have been demanding.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in various parts of Palestine and Amman, Jordan in reaction to the plan's formal rollout.

The "#FreePalestine" hashtag also quickly became the top world trend on Twitter.