US planned embassy move to Jerusalem will jeopardize two-state solution, experts fear

US President Donald Trump's plan to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is expected to further inflame the Middle East and end hopes for a two-state solution, experts said Wednesday.

Jordan, which signed a peace deal with Israel in 1994, has been exerting intensified efforts to highlight the dangers of such a step.

The country called for an emergency meeting by the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to warn of the serious consequences of such a move that would end a decades-long US policy stance toward the issue.

“If Trump goes ahead with the decision, I expect that we will witness more chaos in the region...The issue of Jerusalem is of concern not only to Palestinians but to all Arabs and Muslims,” Mohammad Shboul, an independent political analyst, told Xinhua on Wednesday.

In stressing that Jordan is directly involved in the Palestinian issue, he said the nation is the custodian of holy Islamic and Christian sites in East Jerusalem, which is envisaged as the future capital of the Palestinian state.

“The relocation of the embassy means an end to the twostate solution, which stipulates the creation of an independent Palestinian state that lives side by side with Israel,” said Shboul.

“Jordan will continue to exert efforts at all fronts to face the decision,” said the analyst.

Another political analyst, who preferred to remain anonymous, said the US decision is in violation of international resolutions and UN charters that consider East Jerusalem, which was annexed by Israel in 1967, as an occupied territory.

“Arabs, Muslims, the EU and international regional powers have repeatedly stressed their calls for a jointly-reached solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and that the fate of Jerusalem should be decided by talks between the two sides,” said the analyst, adding that the US move could put an end to the two-state solution.

The analyst stressed that the Arabs renewed their commitment to peace with Israel when they adopted the 2002 Arab peace initiative, which offered Israel normal ties with the Arab world in return for a withdrawal by Israel from territories it occupied in 1967.

“This is not only the job of Jordan but of all countries in the Arab and Islamic world... this is a serious issue that could inflame more tension in the region as such steps can be used by extremists and radical groups to incite more violence,” said the analyst.

In a column published in AdDustour political daily Wednesday, Oraib Al Rintawi, head of Al Quds Center for Political Studies, said that although Jordan is directly involved, it is not the only concerned party in the issue of Jerusalem.

“It is unfair to make Jordan shoulder the responsibility alone, especially in light of the presence of such a US administration whose stances are fickle,” said Rintawi.

There is a need for coordinated Arab standpoints and swift action to face such a decision, said Rintawi, adding that developments in the Arab world and other issues should not overshadow the Palestinian issue at this stage.

“Jordan's diplomacy can play a greater role due to its continued coordination with the Palestinian Authority,” said Rintawi, adding that lobbying all sides including China, Russia, the EU and non-aligned countries is crucial to stop the detrimental plan initiated by the US.

“Palestinians including the Palestinian Authority, activists and factions in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip need to be ready to face any provocative measures,” he said. “With no freedom and independence for Palestine, there is no security and stability in the Middle East,” said Rintawi.