World worry over Trump’s Jerusalem move
Beijing expresses concern about potential flare-up of regional tensions
Global concern mounted on Wednesday ahead of an announcement by US President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, with a list of countries warning of the potential for dangerous fallout.
The move by Trump, set to come in a speech later Wednesday, would upend decades of careful US policy and ignore dire warnings of a historic misstep that could trigger a surge of violence in the Middle East.
China expressed concern on Wednesday about Trump’s pending announcement, saying the move could trigger new rivalry.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told a regular news briefing that the status of Jerusalem was a complicated and sensitive issue and China worried about “any potential flareup of regional tensions.”
A senior administration official said Trump would make the announcement at 1:00 pm from the White House.
“He will say that the US government recognizes that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel,” a senior administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“He views this as a recognition of reality, both historic reality and modern reality.”
Plunging further into a decades-long dispute over a city considered holy by Jews, Muslims and Christians, Trump was also expected to order planning to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“It will take some time to find a site, to address security concerns, design a new facility, fund a new facility and build it,” the official said.
“It will be a matter of some years, it won’t be months, it’s going to take time.”
The status of Jerusalem is a critical issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with both sides claiming the city as their capital.
In a frantic series of calls, the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the European Union, France, Germany and Turkey all warned Trump against the move.
Anticipating protests, US government officials and their families have been ordered to avoid Jerusalem’s Old City and the West Bank.
Further warnings from world leaders came on Wednesday.
“I cannot silence my deep concern over the situation that has emerged in recent days,” Pope Francis said.
“Jerusalem is a unique city, sacred for Jews, Christians and Muslims,” he said, a day after speaking by phone with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
The pontiff added that maintaining Jerusalem’s status quo was important “in order to avoid adding new elements of tension to an already volatile world that is wracked by so many cruel conflicts.”
British foreign minister Boris Johnson, speaking as he arrived for a NATO meeting in Brussels, said “we view the reports that we have heard with concern, because we think that Jerusalem obviously should be part of the final settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, a negotiated settlement.” Turkey said it risked igniting a “fire” in the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump is expected to announce Wednesday that the US recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and will move its embassy there from Tel Aviv. This is the conclusion of US and European media from a White House briefing and phone calls between Trump and Middle East leaders.
As of Wednesday Beijing time, worldwide media outlets have been reporting Trump’s astonishing decision as an established fact. A great anxiety is rising, from the Middle East to vast swathes of the US and Europe.
The decisions of Trump will break the relatively calm situation between Palestine and Israel and rewrite the political landscape in the Middle East. Since the “Arab Spring,” clashes between Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims, the fight against the Islamic State and the Syrian civil war have constituted the turmoil in the region, while Israel has been waiting at ease till its rivalry is exhausted. But now the focal point of the region will likely turn back to the old issue of occupied territory.
Trump is stirring up a hornet’s nest. It is hard to analyze his motives from the perspective of international relations, because such a move will inevitably provoke the Middle East, generating dissatisfaction and hatred from the entire Arab world and even the whole Islamic world toward the US. The risk of a new round of terror attacks against the US might emerge.
This will do no good at all for US economic development, to which Trump attaches great importance.
If Trump’s primary reason for moving the embassy is to stick to his campaign promises, his political willfulness only displays the country’s impatience and impulsiveness. Trump is doing what his predecessors did not have the nerve to do.
The objection from the Arab and Islamic world is bound to be drastic. Radical forces will find a rare opportunity to prove that radicalism is necessary and correct. A series of violent incidents are likely to occur.
Trump is indeed a daring president. He believes that the power of the US is almighty. He probably deems that the country can do whatever it wants and as long as Washington makes up its mind, all the other forces will have to give way. Even others’ religious beliefs can be changed by the US.
For quite some time, the world had not witnessed the strong will of US presidents. Then Trump assumed office. He turned more of his will into actual policies than expected. Since he entered the White House, the US has withdrawn from the Paris climate accord and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, bombed an airbase in Syria and carried out a travel ban that targets six Muslimmajority countries. It seems incredible, but Trump is only doing what he promised.
What the president will do next? The suspense carries weight. It seems that he will decidedly apply the power of the US and forcefully reform those places in the world that dissatisfy him.
For instance, under his leadership, the US may be serious in terms of using military force against North Korea. If Pyongyang refuses to stop its nuclear and missile tests, the possibility of Trump resorting to armed force is higher.
When it comes to interactions with Trump, national strength is more crucial than cottoning up to him. Forces that do not want to be manipulated by the US must be aware of it.