Trump’s Jerusalem move labelled a ‘death sentence’ for peace process
Washington: Leaders around the world, including US allies, have condemned the move as US embassies in the Middle East and Europe braced for potentially violent protests in the wake of the announcement. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, British Prime Minister Theresa May and a host of Middle Eastern leaders were among those criticising Mr Trump’s “dangerous escalation” of hostilities.
In Gaza, hundreds of Palestinian protesters burned American and Israeli flags, while several hundred protesters gathered outside the US consulate in Istanbul, with some throwing coins and other objects at the building.. Hundreds of protesters also chanted anti-American slogans in Jordan’s capital, Amman, which is inhabited by Palestinian refugees.
Mr Trump reversed decades of US policy by recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, despite warnings from around the world that the gesture would further inflame Middle East tensions.
In a speech at the White House, Mr Trump said his administration would also begin a process of moving the US embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which is expected to take years. Mr Trump called his decision a “long overdue” step to advance the peace process. “We cannot solve our problems by making the same failed assumptions and repeating the same failed strategies of the past,” he said.