The Best of Amaliah Straight to Your Inbox

Trump Has Recognised Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel : Reactions

by in World on 7th December, 2017

Yesterday Donald Trump announced that the US now recognises Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and that preparations will now begin to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. However, the move will not be immediate and will take around three to four years to carry out, as there is no facility in Jerusalem that is currently ready to serve as the site of the embassy.

Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the future capital of Palestine, although Israel itself considers Jerusalem the capital. In 1967 Israel annexed East Jerusalem, however previously this was not recognised internationally. All foreign embassies were kept in Tel Aviv as to not interfere with peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel.  However, Trump’s decision essentially means that this has now been validated.

The move to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was actually mandated in 1995. However, all presidents since then, Clinton, Bush and Obama, have been signing a waiver every six months, which allows for the process of the embassy move to be delayed, in the interest of avoiding conflict with peace talks. Trump had also signed the waiver back in June and will continue to whilst the relocation begins.

The decision, however, will greatly affect the US’ position as a mediator for peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel. Many people, including Palestinians and other Arab nations, will lose confidence now in the US’ ability to remain impartial in the efforts of maintaining peace between the two states.

According to Trump, it is a necessary step to move forward with the progress of peace within the middle east.

Israel has called the decision ‘Historic’, whilst around the world, it has provoked a mass condemnation;


Related

The Balfour Declaration, What You Need to Know

Priti Patel Resigns after Meeting with Israeli Officials

Palestinian and Israeli Women March in Demand of Peace


Users on Twitter are currently responding to the decision using #HandsoffJerusalem and #HandsoffAlQuds;

Amaliah Team

Amaliah Team

This article was written by a member of the Amaliah team or a collective team effort. You can follow us on @amaliah_tweets for the latest or head over to our Instagram @amaliah_com. If you're reading this and are thinking about contributing an article then send us an email with a brief or a full article to contribute@amaliah.com