Washington/Jerusalem - President Donald
Trump reversed decades of US policy on Wednesday and
recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in defiance of
warnings from around the world that the gesture risks creating
further unrest in the Middle East.
In a speech at the White House, Trump said his
administration would begin a process of moving the US embassy
in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which is expected to take years.
The status of Jerusalem - home to sites holy to the Muslim,
Jewish and Christian religions - is one of the thorniest
obstacles to reaching a peace deal between Israel and the
Palestinians.
"I have determined that it is time to officially recognize
Jerusalem as the capital of Israel," Trump said. "While previous
presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed
to deliver. Today, I am delivering."
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Israel considers the city its eternal and indivisible
capital and wants all embassies based there. Palestinians want
the capital of an independent Palestinian state to be in the
city's eastern sector, which Israel captured in a 1967 war and
annexed in a move never recognized internationally.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Trump’s
announcement as a “historic landmark" and urged other countries
also to move their embassies in Israel to Jerusalem.
He said any peace deal with Palestinians must include
Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. This would be a non-starter for
Palestinians if it means the entire city would be under Israeli
control.
The Palestinians have said Trump's move would mean the "kiss
of death" to the two-state solution, envisaging a Palestinian
state in territory - the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East
Jerusalem - that Israel took in 1967.
Ahead of Trump's announcement, Washington's allies in the
region warned of dangerous repercussions.
Pope Francis called for Jerusalem's status quo to be
respected, saying new tension would further inflame world
conflicts. China and Russia expressed concern the plans could
aggravate Middle East hostilities. A Palestinian envoy said the
decision was a declaration of war in the Middle East.
Trump said his move is not intended to tip the scale in
favor of Israel and that any deal involving the future of
Jerusalem would have to be negotiated by the parties.
He said he remained committed to the two-state solution
between the Israelis and Palestinians if they parties want one.
Amid warnings of potential unrest in the Middle East, the
president called on the region to take his message calmly and
with moderation.
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"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 place of
greater understanding and cooperation," Trump said.
His announcement fulfills a core pledge of his election
campaign last year
Trump said his move reflected the reality of Jerusalem as
the center of Jewish faith and the fact that the city is the
seat of the Israeli government.
Trump's decision is likely to please his core supporters -
Republican conservatives and evangelical Christians who comprise
an important share of his political base.
He acted under a 1995 law that requires the United States to
move its embassy to Jerusalem. His predecessors, Bill Clinton,
George W. Bush and Barack Obama, had consistently put off that
decision to avoid inflaming tensions in the Middle East.
Trump signed a waiver delaying the embassy move from Tel
Aviv since the United States does not have an embassy structure
in Jerusalem to move into. A senior administration official said
it could take three to four years to build one.