Former European leaders say EU could reject Trump's Israel-Palestine peace deal

Former EU diplomats and leaders say the bloc should reject US peace plan which so not include Palestinian state, in line with international law.

Former European prime ministers and foreign ministers from Europe - who previously served in in high profile positions in the United Nations, NATO and the European Union - called Monday on the EU to reaffirm its support for the two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The appeal comes in advance of the publication of US President Donald Trump's long-awaited peace plan.

The former leaders have reportedly urged the EU not to support Trump's plan if it fails to support a two-state plan and flouts international law.

"We are reaching out at a critical point in time in the Middle East, as well as in Europe. The EU is heavily invested in the multilateral, rules-based international order," the letter reads.

The former leaders criticised Trump administration for deviating from Oslo Agreement, "a milestone of transatlantic foreign policy cooperation", as well as distancing itself from international law.

"Unfortunately, the current US administration has departed from longstanding US policy and distanced itself from established international legal norms. It has so far recognised only one side's claims to Jerusalem and demonstrated a disturbing indifference to Israeli settlement expansion," the European former senior officials said.

The letter, signed by 37 signatories, called on the bloc to embrace the EU parameters set by the bloc for a peace process for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which "reflect our shared understanding that a viable peace requires the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel on borders based on the pre-1967 lines with mutually agreed, minimal and equal land swaps; with Jerusalem as the capital for both states".

Among the signatories are former British foreign secretaries David Miliband and Jack Straw, former French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, former German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel as well as EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana.

US President Donald Trump formally recognised Jerusalem in December 2017 as the capital of Israel in a speech in Washington, marking a controversial break with 70 years of precedent.

"My announcement today marks the beginning of a new approach to the conflict between Israel and Palestinians," Trump said.

The recognition was described by officials in Trump's administration as a "recognition of reality".