EU: East Jerusalem should be shared

BRUSSELS, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Israelis and Palestinians should share East Jerusalem, European Union foreign ministers said Tuesday.

The officials, in a bid to restart stalled peace negotiations, issued a call for the two sides to take joint custody of the holy city, the EUobserver reported.

"The European Union calls for the urgent resumption of negotiations," the statement said. "If there is to be a genuine peace, a way must be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states."

East Jerusalem is the site of the Al-Aqsa mosque, the third-holiest place in Islam, and is home to 200,000 Muslims. It has been under Israeli occupation since 1967, when Israel claimed it as part of its "indivisible" capital.

Settlements in the area have resulted in a growing community of more than 180,000 Jews, the publication said.

The statement released Tuesday was reportedly toned down from earlier drafts submitted by the Swedish EU presidency that called for East Jerusalem to become part of a new Palestinian state, the EUobserver said.

"Now is not the moment to have a new wall in Jerusalem," an unnamed French diplomat told the publication.