EU seeks to amend Trump's Mideast 'deal of century'

The European Union member states have called on the US administration to amend an Israel-Palestine "deal of the century" that Washington hopes to unveil soon, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said on Wednesday.

The sought for amendments include additional items related to "the establishment of a sovereign state of Palestine based on pre-1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital", Anadolu news agency quoted al-Maliki as saying.

The US plans to soon unveil a comprehensive Middle East peace plan that President Donald Trump has hailed as "the deal of the century".

EU member states representatives on Tuesday held a meeting in Brussels that was attended by officials from six Arab states, including Palestine, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Attendees agreed the EU would propose several amendments to the terms of the deal before it was unveiled by the Trump administration.

Trump's peace plan reportedly calls for across-the-board Arab recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and the annexation by Israel of large West Bank settlement blocs.

Israel in return would gradually withdraw from most Palestinian areas now under occupation.

So far, however, the Palestinian leadership has voiced its rejection of the initiative's terms.

Trump last December recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, sparking widespread condemnation from across the Arab and Muslim world.

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