Global condemnation
> World aghast at Trump’s Jerusalem decision
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital prompted an almost universal diplomatic backlash and fears yesterday of new bloodshed in the Middle East.
Trump’s defiant move – making good on a pledge made during his 2016 presidential campaign – ends seven decades of US ambiguity on the status of the Holy City, which is vociferously claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians.
Trump said this marks the start of a “new approach” to solving the IsraeliPalestinian conflict.
“Israel is a sovereign nation with the right like every other sovereign nation to determine its own capital,” he said in a White House speech on Wednesday.
“It is time to officially recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” he said, urging calm and “the voices of tolerance to prevail over the purveyors of hate”.
Immediately, the move sparked anger among Palestinians and their supporters.
The Palestine Liberation Organisation announced a strike in protest across the West Bank yesterday, while Hamas – the Palestinian Islamist group running the Gaza Strip – called for a “day of rage” today.
Hamas warned that he had opened “the gates of hell on US interests in the region”.
Although welcomed by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “courageous and just decision”, Trump’s move left many angry American allies struggling to find a diplomatic response.
Saudi Arabia yesterday blasted the move as “unjustified and irresponsible”, and said it goes against the “historical and permanent rights of the Palestinian people”.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Trump’s “deplorable and unacceptable” move meant that the US was withdrawing as a sponsor of the peace process.
Through gritted teeth, Britain described the move as “unhelpful” and France called it “regrettable”. Germany said plainly that it “does not support” Trump’s decision.
Eight countries including Britain, France and Italy pressed for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, which has been set for today.
Turkey and Iran, vying for regional influence, tried to give voice to the anger felt by many across the Muslim world.
Ankara called it “irresponsible” and illegal while Tehran said it would “provoke Muslims and inflame a new intifada”.
Indonesian president Joko Widodo said he “condemned” Trump’s decision on Jerusalem, and ordered the US ambassador in Jakarta to be summoned over the move.
The European Union’s chief diplomat Federica Mogherini voiced “serious concern” at Trump’s decision. – AFP