EU shows unity in dealing with the Palestinian issue

The European Union has confirmed its unity in supporting the existence of two separate states with Jerusalem as the capital of both entities, said Deputy Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Korčok after the meeting of EU diplomats with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday. Slovakia is one of the nine EU governments which have already recognised the state of Palestine. In a gesture of support, EU foreign ministers discussed whether to increase the EU's aid to the Palestinian Authority, after the United States announced it would withhold about half the initial aid it planned to give the U.N. agency that serves the Palestinians. No decisions were taken, according to the Reuters press agency. The European Union has a dual role as the Palestinians' biggest aid donor and Israel's biggest trade partner and EU governments reject Israeli settlements on land Israel has occupied since a 1967 war - including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.