Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel capital, upending decades of U.S. policy

[HAZARD]

Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel capital, upending decades of U.S. policy

 

 

© Getty Images US President Donald Trump. President Donald Trump on Wednesday will recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and set in motion the relocation of the U.S. Embassy to the ancient city, senior U.S. officials said, a decision that upends decades of U.S. policy and risks fuelling violence in the Middle East.

Facing an outcry of opposition from Arab capitals, Trump, in a landmark speech, will announce he has ordered the State Department to begin developing a plan to move the embassy from Tel Aviv in what is expected to be a process that takes three to four years, the officials said. He will not set a timetable for the move.

Trump will sign a national security waiver that authorizes him to delay the embassy relocation for now, since the U.S. diplomats do not yet have a building in Jerusalem to move into, security arrangements or housing for diplomats, the officials said.

Still, Trump’s endorsement of Israel's claim to all of Jerusalem as its capital would reverse long-standing U.S. policy that the city's status must be decided in negotiations with the Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

The international community does not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the entire city, home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian religions.

The officials, who briefed reporters ahead of Trump’s speech at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) on Wednesday, insisted that Trump’s decision, intended to fulfil a key campaign promise, was not meant to pre-judge the outcome of eventual talks on the final status of Jerusalem or other major disputes between the two sides.

 

Instead, one of the officials contended that Trump’s announcements reflected the “historic reality” of Jerusalem as the centre of Jewish faith and the “modern reality” that it is the seat of Israeli government.

Such arguments are not likely to sway the Palestinians and the broader Arab world.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordan's King Abdullah,

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Arabia's King Salman, who all received telephone calls from Trump on Tuesday, joined a mounting chorus of voices warning that unilateral U.S. steps on Jerusalem would derail a fledgling U.S.-led peace effort that has stymied previous U.S. administrations and unleash turmoil in the region.

The White House said Trump had also spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close U.S. ally and longtime proponent of a U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem.

Netanyahu was the only leader whose office did not release a statement following the call. A senior Israeli minister welcomed Trump's decision while vowing that Israel would be prepared for any outbreak of violence.

Trump appears intent on satisfying the pro-Israel, right-wing base, including evangelical Christians, that helped him win the presidency but was disappointed when he delayed the embassy move in June. No other country has its embassy in Jerusalem. Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed it, an action not recognised internationally.

But Trump’s decision could also upset the peace effort led by his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, in pursuit of what the U.S. president has called the “ultimate deal.”

'DANGEROUS CONSEQUENCES'

Still, internal deliberations over the status of Jerusalem were tense. Vice President Mike Pence and David Friedman, U.S. ambassador to Israel, pushed hard for both recognition and embassy relocation, while Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis opposed the move from Tel Aviv, according to other U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

An impatient Trump finally weighed in, telling aides last week he wanted to keep his campaign promise.

Word of Trump’s impending announcement about Jerusalem, one of the most sensitive issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has already raised the spectre of violent protest.

The State Department has ordered restrictions on the movements of its diplomats in and around parts of Jerusalem and has warned U.S. diplomatic installations across the Middle East of the potential for unrest.

“Departments and agencies have developed and implemented a robust security plan to ensure the safety of our citizens and assets in the greater Middle East,” one of the senior officials said.

Abbas warned Trump of the “dangerous consequences” that moving the embassy would have for peace efforts and regional stability, and also appealed to the pope and the leaders of Russia, France and Jordan to intervene, Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah said.

But Trump assured Abbas that he remained committed to facilitating an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, one U.S. official said.

While Trump has yet to openly endorse a two-state solution to the conflict, administration officials told reporters he was prepared to do so if the two parties agree, a continued hedging on what has been a bedrock of U.S. Middle East policy.

Saudi King Salman told Trump that any U.S. announcement on the status of Jerusalem would "inflame Muslim feelings all over the world,” the Saudi Press Agency said.

Israeli Intelligence Minister Israel Katz, who met last week with U.S. officials in Washington, hailed Trump's impending announcement as recognition of Jerusalem as "the eternal capital of the Jewish people for 3,000 years, as the capital of the state of Israel."

Asked whether Israel was preparing for a wave of violence if Trump recognises Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, he said: "We are preparing for every option. Anything like that can always erupt. If Abu Mazen (Abbas) will lead it in that direction, then he will be making a big mistake.”

Islamist militant groups such as al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah have in the past tried to exploit Muslim sensitivities over Jerusalem to stoke anti-Israel and anti-U.S. sentiment.

Arab criticism of Trump's plan contrasted sharply with the praise Washington's traditional Arab allies heaped on him at the beginning of his administration in January. They saw the Republican president as re-engaging in the region after what they perceived as former Democratic President Barack Obama’s distancing of himself from them, as well as taking a tougher stand against Iran.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/trump-to-recognise-jerusalem-as-israel-capital-upending-decades-of-us-policy/ar-BBGhzC0?ocid=spartanntp

And here;

http://www.news.com.au/world/middle-east/trump-to-recognise-jerusalem-as-capital-sparking-palestinian-rage/news-story/02bc67b3114212c82df9f10db0f4dc24

[HAZARD]

Their now calling it a declaration of war?

middle east
Trump declares Jerusalem as Israel’s capital
DONALD Trump has broken with seven decades of US policy, a move one official says is “declaring war against 1.5 billion Muslims.”

James Law@JournoLawJ

news.com.au
December 7, 20176:37am

Trump's Big Gamble on Moving U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem


DONALD Trump has declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in a provocative move one Palestinian official has blasted as the “kiss of death” for peace in the Middle East.
In a speech at the White House this morning, Mr Trump officially recognised the holy city as the capital of Israel and declared his intention to move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv.
“Today we finally acknowledge the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital,” he said.
“This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do.”

US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, despite intense Arab, Muslim and European opposition. Picture: AP Photo/Evan VucciSource:AP
Mr Trump said moving the embassy was “long overdue”, given it had been US policy since 1995. Previous presidents had “failed to deliver”.
“I am delivering. I’ve judged this course of action to be in the best interests of the United States of America and the pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians,” Mr Trump said.
“After more than two decades of waivers, we are no closer to a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
“It would be folly to assume that repeating the exact same formula would now produce a different or better result.”

Vice President Mike Pence stood behind Donald Trump for the 11-minute address. Picture: AP Photo/Alex BrandonSource:AP
The President said Israel had the right to determine its own capital “like every other sovereign nation”.
“Acknowledging this as a fact is a necessary condition for achieving peace,” he said.
Mr Trump said Jerusalem was the “seat of the modern Israeli government” and was home to the parliament, supreme court and prime minister.

A view of the Western Wall and the golden Dome of the Rock Islamic shrine on the day Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Picture: Lior Mizrahi/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
The President has directed the State Department to begin the process of building a new US embassy in Jerusalem that would be “a magnificent tribute to peace”. The process of moving the embassy out of Tel Aviv is expected to take years.
While the change is likely to be seen in the Muslim world as the US siding with the Israelis, Mr Trump said it was not intended to reflect on other ongoing disagreements with the Palestinians.
“We are not taking a position of any final status issues, including the specific boundaries of the Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem or the resolution of contested borders,” Mr Trump said.
He reiterated his administration’s commitment to facilitating a “lasting peace agreement” and indicated support for a two-state solution, if both Israel and Palestine agreed.
Talk of the change received a swift rebuke from Palestinian factions, who called for “three days of rage” throughout the Muslim world, according to The Jerusalem Post. One of those factions, the militant group Hamas, warned it “opens the gates of hell”.

Holding a banner with a Turkish and a Palestinian flag, protesters chant anti-American slogans during a demonstration near the US embassy in Ankara, Turkey. Picture: AP PhotoSource:AP
There are fears the protests will turn violent, but Mr Trump called for calm.
“There will of course be disagreement and dissent regarding this announcement but we are confident that ultimately as we work through these disagreements, we will arrive at a peace and a place far greater in understanding and co-operation,” he said.
“This sacred city should call forth the best in humanity, lifting our sights to what is possible, not pulling us back and down to the old fights that have become so totally predictable.
“Today, we call for calm, for moderation and for the voices of tolerance to prevail over the purveyors of hate.
“Our children should inherit our love, not our conflicts.”
Mr Trump called for “young and moderate voices all across the Middle East” to resist the “bloodshed, ignorance and terror” that had held peace back.
The President explained that, when he came to office, he promised to approach the world’s challenges “with open eyes and very fresh thinking”.
“We cannot solve our problems by making the same failed assumptions, repeating the same failed strategies of the past,” he said.
“Old challenges demand new approaches.”

Palestinian men watch Donald Trump’s address at a cafe in Jerusalem. Picture: AFP/Ahmad GharalbiSource:AFP
MOVE IS ‘KISS OF DEATH’ FOR PEACE
Palestine’s chief representative in the UK, Manuel Hassassian, said the move had dashed hopes of a peace deal with Israel.
“If he says what he is intending to say about Jerusalem being the capital of Israel, it means a kiss of death to the two-state solution,” he said on BBC radio.
“He is declaring war in the Middle East, he is declaring war against 1.5 billion Muslims [and] hundreds of millions of Christians that are not going to accept the holy shrines to be totally under the hegemony of Israel.”
The move is controversial because Jerusalem shares sacred sites with Jewish, Islamic and Christian faiths. The decision could imply that Israel has sovereignty of East Jerusalem, which Palestinians seek as their capital under a two-state solution.
Mr Trump’s decision breaks with seven-decades of policy in the volatile region.
Palestine Liberation Organisation secretary-general Saeb Erekat said the US President had “destroyed the two-state solution” and “disqualified his country from any role whatsoever” in the peace process.
“As a chief Palestinian negotiator, how can I sit with these people if they dictate on me the future of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital?” he tolds reporters after Mr Trump’s speech.
United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres implicitly criticised Mr Trump’s decision, reflecting the views of many Arab and European leaders who believe Jerusalem’s status should be decided by the Israeli’s and Palestinians.
“Jerusalem is a final status issue that must be resolved through direct negotiations between the two parties on the basis of the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, taking into account the legitimate concerns of both the Palestinian and the Israeli sides,” he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the move was “regrettable” and called for efforts to “avoid violence at all costs”.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted that the announcement was illegal and “irresponsible”.

British columnist and TV host Piers Morgan had one of the harshest reactions, accusing Mr Trump of taking “a million-ton barrel of oil and tipping it all over the Middle East”.
“His decision to officially recognise Jerusalem as the new capital city of Israel, and to move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv, is a staggeringly reckless act of wilful provocation,” Mr Morgan said.
“In the short term, Trump’s decision will inevitably spark a new wave of violence and instability across the region.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was “profoundly grateful” to Mr Trump, whose announcement was an “important step toward peace”.
The Israeli leader said his country would “continue to work with the President and his team to make that dream of peace come true”.
The White House justified the policy change in a briefing with reporters yesterday by saying that the change acknowledged the “historical and current reality” that Jerusalem was the capital and the “seat of government” in the country.
WHY TRUMP MADE THE MOVE
Middle East politics expert Michael Dumper told news.com.au that Mr Trump made the controversial announcement to please the conservative, evangelical and pro-Israel elements of his base in the US.
But he cautioned that moving the embassy was a “grave mistake” because it could re-energise Islamic radicalism, which had been weakened in recent years.
“Given the disarray amongst the Palestinian factions, the fragmentation of the Arab world and the fissures in the broader Islamic community, there is a 50-50 chance that the regional response to an embassy move will not be so overwhelming as may have been predicted several years ago,” Professor Dumper said.
“Then, one could fairly safely predict the burning of US and Israeli flags in Istanbul, Cairo and other capitals of the region with possibly crowds of protesters attempting to storm US embassy premises.
“Today, one cannot be so certain.
“In terms of moving the remnants of the peace process forward, and of re-energising Islamic radicalism which has taken a big hit since the rise of [Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-] Sisi and the demise of ISIS [Islamic State], moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem would still be a grave mistake.
“Nevertheless, President Trump may calculate that the political gains he obtains from pleasing the conservative, evangelical and pro-Israel elements of his domestic base will be greater than the losses for the US in the Middle East.”

http://www.news.com.au/world/middle-eas ... a9659309a1

[HAZARD]

World rejects Trump's Jerusalem decision
The EU and UN have voiced alarm at US President Donald Trump's move to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital while Arabs have condemned the decision.
Mark Heinrich
ReutersDecember 7, 20178:15am
Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East have condemned the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as an incendiary move in a volatile region.
The European Union and United Nations also voiced alarm at US President Donald Trump's decision to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and its repercussions for any chances of reviving Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.
Major US allies came out against Trump's reversal of decades of US and international policy on Jerusalem.
France rejected the "unilateral" decision while appealing for calm in the region. Britain said the move would not help peace efforts and Jerusalem should ultimately be shared by Israel and a future Palestinian state. Germany said Jerusalem's status could only be resolved on the basis of a two-state solution.
Israel, by contrast, applauded Trump's move. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a pre-recorded video message on Wednesday that it was "an important step towards peace" and it was "our goal from Israel's first day".
He added that any peace deal with the Palestinians would have to include Jerusalem as Israel's capital and he urged other countries to follow Trump's example.
Trump reversed decades of US policy in recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital in defiance of warnings from around the world that the gesture risks creating aggravating conflict in a chronically volatile Middle East.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a pre-recorded speech, said Jerusalem was the "eternal capital of the State of Palestine" and that Trump's move was "tantamount to the United States abdicating its role as a peace mediator".
The last round of fitful peace negotiations brokered by Washington collapsed in 2014.
The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which had dominated Gaza since soon after Israel ended a 38-year occupation of it in 2005, said Trump had committed a "flagrant aggression against the Palestinian people". Hamas urged Arabs and Muslims to "undermine US interests in the region" and to "shun Israel".
Egypt, which forged the first Arab peace deal with Israel in 1979, rejected Trump's decision and said it did not change Jerusalem's disputed legal status.
Jordan, the second Arab state to make peace with Israel, in 1994, said Trump's action was "legally null" because it consolidated Israel's occupation of the eastern sector of the contested city in the 1967 Middle East war.
Iran "seriously condemns" Trump's move as it violates UN resolutions on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, state media said. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier that the US was trying to destabilise the region and start a war to protect Israel's security.

http://www.news.com.au/world/breaking-n ... d9e24c5558

[Justmemyselfandi]

Wars and rumors of war..........