East Jerusalem not part of Israel: European MP

East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as a national capital, is "not part of Israel," Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said Monday ahead of a meeting with his EU counterparts.

"We all recognize, in discussions, that east Jerusalem is occupied, and if it is occupied then it is not part of Israel," Asselborn told reporters as he arrived for the talks in Brussels.

"I don't understand how Israel fails to recognize that Palestine is composed of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem," he added, pleading for Europe and the US to use "clear language" when pronouncing on the issue.

However Europe does not speak with a single voice on east Jerusalem, which Israel invaded and occupied in 1967 and subsequently annexed.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini upon his arrival for the talks, said unilateral pronouncements should be avoided.

"We support anything which encourages the two parties to sit down at the negotiating table again," he said.

In a first draft of a statement drawn up for an EU summit at the end of the week, Europe's leaders spoke in favor of "a viable state of Palestine comprising the West Bank and Gaza and with east Jerusalem as its capital."

Such wording angered Israel whose foreign ministry said it harmed Europe's ability to play a mediating role in the Middle East.

A new version of the draft text, seen by AFP Monday, drops the explicit reference to east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Last week, an irate Israel slammed the European Union for its planned proposal to call for east Jerusalem to be named the capital of a future Palestinian state, dividing what Tel Aviv labels its "eternal capital."

We all recognize, in discussions, that east Jerusalem is occupied, and if it is occupied then it is not part of Israel

Luxembourg FM Jean Asselborn