Pictured Above: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the general debate of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 20, 2017. Credit: U.N. Photo/Cia Pak.

(January 22, 2018 / JNS)

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas will request that the European Union officially recognize a Palestinian state during a meeting with European foreign ministers Monday.

Abbas will meet with EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini and with all 28 foreign ministers of EU member states on the sidelines of the group’s monthly meeting in Brussels.

PA Foreign Ninister Riyad al-Maliki stated Sunday that Abbas will urge the EU to recognize a Palestinian state as a direct response to the recent U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. According to al-Maliki, Abbas will also “reiterate his commitment to the peace process.”

Yet despite the Palestinian efforts, EU officials purportedly stated that the bloc would not recognize a Palestinian state. Rather, the EU will leave final status agreements to the parties while studying methods to advance a two-state solution. The EU may also consider forming an “association agreement” with the Palestinians.

Abbas’s meeting with Mogherini and EU foreign ministers comes just one month after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a similar meeting with the EU leadership in Brussels. During that meeting, Netanyahu expressed confidence that most European countries will follow the precedent set by the Trump administration’s policy changes on Jerusalem. Mogherini reiterated the bloc’s policy of only recognizing the status of Jerusalem following the outcome of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

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