After seven decades of conflicts, the US President Donald Trump formally acknowledged Wednesday at the White House Diplomatic Reception Room that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
Also, he commanded the State Department to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city and called his decision a “long overdue” step that will, hopefully, help find peace between both the Middle Eastern country and the State of Palestine.
Trump criticized former US Presidents who never recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and said he would “intend to do everything” in his power to “help forge such an agreement.” However, some experts believe this in-looking-for-peace decision could generate several problems inside American borders.
On that same line, a Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ spokesman warned the US government that the region would suffer “dangerous consequences.”
The actual American President said that he will soon begin all the due processes to move the US embassy to Jerusalem and that he’ll look for architects and workers to build a “magnificent art tribute.”
“I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. Today, I am delivering.” Trump announced. “All challenges demand new approaches. My announcement today marks the beginning of a new approach to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.”
The president said that he wants a two-state solution, and assured that he was not dictating how much of Jerusalem should represent Israel’s capital. Thus, to make people understand that there’s still a possibility that East Jerusalem could be one day the capital of a future Palestinian state.
The world has an eye on Trump’s decision
Trump remarked that America is not “taking a position on any final status issues” – considering the faith of the people as one of the biggest and that he will not interfere in the way both parts decide the limits of the capital.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that he supported Trump’s decision, which reflects the US President’s compromise of a real solution by achieving an “important step toward peace.” Additionally, he encouraged other presidents to do the same as Trump – to recognize Jerusalem “as the capital” and to “move” their embassies to the city.
However, not all presidents and other world leaders agreed with Trump and Netanyahu. Some of them – like the Pope, Russia, and the US allies Turkey, and Egypt – previously condemned the action and denounced that it’s seeking to destabilize a region that’s already in bad terms.
“This decision is a regrettable decision that France does not approve of and goes against international law and all the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council,” said France’s President Enmanuel Macron.
António Gutierres, the United Nations Secretary-General, said that Israel and Palestine have no other alternative than a two-state solution and that Jerusalem was a “final-status issue” that should have been resolved by direct talks.
Also, Gutierres said that he had expressed his concerns about any unilateral measures that would “jeopardize the prospect of peace for Israelis and Palestinians.”
“The recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and the relocation of all embassies to the city, is a landmark in the recognition of the right of the Jewish people to our land, and a milestone on our road to peace – peace for all the residents of Jerusalem, and the whole region,” said the Israel President Reuven Rivlin.
‘He’s pulled the trigger’
Angry people told The Guardian about their feelings on Trump’s decision. None of them like it and some doubted it with words we prefer not to mention in this article.
At a social club placed in the heart of Jerusalem’s Shuafat, Abu Atya, a young Palestinian man, said that Trump’s speech “is going to cause big trouble.”
Hamdi Dyab also showed himself agitated while translating to Arabic Trump’s statement. He doubted it as a “dangerous speech” too, and said the people are going to call “for a new intifada.”
“This will harm America because they present themselves as fair broker between Israelis and Palestinians,” said Sheikh Abdullah al-Qam, a Palestinian coordinator of a Jerusalem committee, who led the first intifada. “This will only encourage extremism. It will encourage Isis. Over one billion Muslims are asking why he is taking this step.”
Another man said that Trump “pulled the trigger.”
Currently, 56 countries have embassies in Tel Aviv. The US might be the first to move to Jerusalem.
Source: The Guardian