Netanyahu Tells EU: Stop Pampering Palestinians - Trump Tells Them the Truth
Netanyahu says there is no country in the Mideast that does as much as Israel to protect Europe from the spread of ISIS
BRUSSELS – Meeting with the foriegn ministers of the European Union in Brussels, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the EU needs to stop pampering Palestinians and follow U.S. President Donald Trump, who Netanyahu claimed tells them the truth.
- As Netanyahu Prepares to Visit Brussels, Tensions With EU's Mogherini Worsen
- Heading to EU, Netanyahu Lashes Out at Europe for 'Condemning Trump, but Not Rocket Fire'
- Netanyahu Ought to Listen, Not Just Preach, to EU Ministers
While dining with 28 of the EU's top diplomats, Netanyahu said that Israel's actions prevent ISIS from spreading and that "we do this to protect ourselves but also Europe. There is no country in the Mideast that protects Europe like Israel."
>> Netanyahu ought to listen, not just preach, to EU ministers | Opinion
Netanyahu responded to questions by foreign ministers of the EU regarding the Israeli settlement enterprise. He said that he does not believe that the settlements are at the heart of the conflict.
Moving on to speak to the foreign ministers about the wider region, Netanyahu warned that if Iran based itself militarily in Syria, it would do so by bringing Shi'ites to Syria as a pioneering army.
He said that it was all part of an Iranian attempt to establish a religious doctrine in Syria, which would eventually lead to ISIS-like factions and a renewal of religious wars.
Earlier Netanyahu spoke positively of the American peace initiative as the organization's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, told the Israeli premier that Europe wanted to be more involved in talks.
Mogherini also praised the two-state solution as the only possible framework for resolving the conflict and said the EU supports the idea of Jerusalem being a shared capital for both the Israelis and the Palestinians. Netanyahu, for his part, said peace was contingent on Palestinian recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Last week, Mogherini expressed her opposition of U.S. President Donald Trump's recent policy change on Jerusalem, inspiring outrage from Israeli officials and the prime minister himself.