MOSCOW, December 10. /TASS/. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused of "hypocrisy" and "double standards" European leaders who condemned the US move to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

"While I respect Europe, I am not prepared to accept a double standard from it," The Times of Israel quoted the premier as saying ahead of his visit to Europe, where he is expected to meet European leaders on Monday. "I hear voices from there condemning President Trump’s historic statement but I have not heard condemnations of the rockets fired at Israel or the terrible incitement against it."

"I am not prepared to accept this hypocrisy, and as usual at this important forum, I will present Israel’s truth without fear and with head held high," Netanyahu added.

Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump stated that time has come to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered the Department of State to start preparations for moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to this city. Shortly after the announcement, rocket launches from the Gaza Strip at the Israeli territory intensified.

Jerusalem’s status is one of the major problems in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Israelis occupied the eastern part of the city during the war of 1967 and they insist that Jerusalem is the "single and indivisible" capital of Israel. Palestinians, for their part, want to make the eastern part of the city the capital of their state.