Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has warned US recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital was a “threat to peace” as he hosted the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on his first foreign trip since Donald Trump provoked widespread condemnation with the decision. Macron said he had told Netanyahu that Trump’s statement on Jerusalem “is a threat to peace and we are against it” and suggested that an Israeli freeze on settlement building would be an important gesture, showing Israel was committed to peace. For their part, the Palestinians say East Jerusalem must be the capital of a future independent Palestinian state. Photograph: Thomas Coex/AFPMacron has been leading European criticism of the US decision and rang Trump before his announcement to warn him of the likely damaging consequences for the Palestinian peace process. Most countries consider East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed after capturing it in 1967, to be occupied territory.

Source: The Guardian December 10, 2017 12:46 UTC