Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Amos Ben-Gershom / GPO.

JNS.org – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday expressed confidence that most European countries will follow the precedent set by the Trump administration’s policy changes on Jerusalem.

“I believe that all or most of the European countries will move their embassies to Jerusalem, recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and engage robustly with us for security, prosperity and peace,” Netanyahu said in Brussels ahead of a meeting with all 28 foreign ministers of European Union (EU) member states.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, reiterated the bloc’s policy of only recognizing the status of Jerusalem following the outcome of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

“The only realistic solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine is based on two states with Jerusalem as the capital of both,” said Mogherini.

“We believe it is in Israel’s interest, especially its security interest, to find a sustainable and comprehensible solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is why the European Union will increase its work…to relaunch the peace process, even if it seems [that these are] difficult times,” she said.

Before traveling to Brussels, Netanyahu met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday. The Israeli leader acknowledged that he and Macron don’t “agree on everything,” but are “working on it.” Macron had called America’s Jerusalem policy changes “regrettable” and said the city’s status should be determined through negotiations.