EU to assess Trump's Mideast peace plan: Top EU diplomat

The European Union (EU) will study and assess the U.S. Middle East peace plan announced by the U.S. President Donald Trump, said Josep Borrell, EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, in a declaration on Tuesday.

The top EU diplomat pledged the EU's "firm and united commitment to a negotiated and viable two-state solution", reaffirming the EU's readiness for resuming negotiations between Israel and Palestine.

Borrell urged the two sides to demonstrate a genuine commitment to the two-state solution as the only realistic way to end the conflict.

At a White House ceremony attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day, Trump announced a plan that would allow the creation of a Palestinian state with a capital in parts of East Jerusalem, in an effort to achieve a peace breakthrough with Israel.

Under the proposed plan, the United States will recognize Israeli settlements on the occupied West Bank. In exchange, Israel would agree to a four-year freeze on new settlement activities during the negotiation over Palestinian statehood parameters.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday rejected the peace plan, saying it "will end in the dustbin of history."   "Jerusalem is not for sale," he said. "Your conspiracy deal will not pass and the Palestinian people will reject it."