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EU seeking to amend Trump's Mideast 'deal of century'

Anadolu Agency MIDDLE EAST
Published February 28,2018
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EU member states are calling on the U.S. administration to amend an Israel-Palestine "deal of the century" that Washington hopes to unveil soon, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said Wednesday.

The sought-for amendments include additional items related to "the establishment of a sovereign state of Palestine based on pre-1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital", al-Maliki told the Voice of Palestine radio station.

According to a flurry of recent reports, the U.S. plans to soon unveil a comprehensive Middle East peace plan that U.S. President Donald Trump has hailed as "the deal of the century".

On Tuesday, representatives of EU member states held a meeting in Brussels that was also attended by officials from six Arab states, including Palestine, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Attendees agreed that the EU would propose several amendments to the terms of the deal before it was unveiled by the Trump administration.

Trump's peace plan reportedly calls for across-the-board Arab recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and the annexation by Israel of large West Bank settlement blocs.

In return, Israel would be expected to stage a gradual withdrawal from most Palestinian areas now under occupation.

So far, however, the Palestinian leadership has voiced its rejection of the initiative's terms.

Last December, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, sparking widespread condemnation from across the Arab and Muslim world.