JERUSALEM — Israel's president has called on the European Union to reconsider its new ban on funding Israeli institutions operating in territories Palestinians claim for their future state.
Shimon Peres' statement on Thursday came as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in the region, trying to restart Israel-Palestinians talks.
Peres said Kerry is making progress and that talks could resume soon.
Peres urged the EU to "give priority to peace" and warned the ban "could cause another crisis."
The EU decision is to go into effect in 2014. It marks a new international show of displeasure with Israeli settlements built on lands captured in the 1967 Mideast war.
The Palestinians claim some of those territories — the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem — for their hoped-for state.
