The European Union has called on the Israel government to stop all its settlement activities on occupied Palestinian territories.

"We asked for a total freeze of settlement activities and we will pursue this policy," said Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, whose country holds the EU presidency, quoted by AFP.

At a gathering in Brussels, foreign ministers of EU member states also urged Tel Aviv to accept a two state solution with Jerusalem al-Quds as the shared capital with Palestinians.

While Tel Aviv’s foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman was visiting Brussels for bilateral talks with his German, Italian, Dutch, Lithuanian and Maltese counterparts, the regime’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled his 24-hour visit to Brussels later in the week.

Netanyahu is to meet US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) convention on Tuesday.

The fresh calls on Tel Aviv by the EU come just days after the Middle East Quartet, comprising the US, UN, EU and Russia, condemned Israel’s announcement to expand settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

Netanyahu, however, refused to freeze settlement expansions saying that construction policies in Jerusalem al-Quds were the same as in Tel Aviv and that they have remained unchanged for different Israeli administrations.

(Press TV)