TRUMP OPENS ‘GATES OF HELL’
Outrage from 1.5bn Muslims throughout the world and Hamas threatens new Intifada as Trump says Jerusalem is Israel’s capital
‘Plunging world into a fire without end’
THE Middle East was plunged into turmoil last night after Donald Trump defied global opposition and formally recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Ignoring dire warnings from Muslim and European leaders — including Theresa May and the Pope — that he risked blowing up any chance of peace in the Middle East, the President said he would move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv.
The move, which was a Trump election pledge to please pro-Israel voters and evangelical Christians, is deeply symbolic as Jerusalem remains the world’s most fiercely contested city.
However, it met with fury across the Middle East. In Bethlehem, on the West Bank, Palestinians burned photos of Mr Trump. The U.S. consulate warned Americans in Jerusalem and the West Bank of possible violence.
And Hamas, the militant group running Gaza, said the move ‘opens the gates of hell’ and called for a Palestinian ‘day of rage’. It also threatened to launch another violent uprising — or Intifada — against Israel.
Turkish deputy prime minister Bekir Bozdag said Mr Trump ‘is plunging the region and the world into a fire with no end in sight’. And a Palestinian delegate to the UK branded the move a ‘declaration of war’ against the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims.
Prime Minster Theresa May called for calm and an atmosphere ‘free from violence’. She said: ‘We disagree with the U.S. decision. We believe it is unhelpful in terms of prospects for peace in the region.
‘We call on all parties to work together to maintain calm.
‘We share President Trump’s desire to bring an end to this conflict. We welcome his commitment today to a two-state solution negotiated between the parties.’ She said the UK had no plans to move its embassy to Jerusalem.
Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state and the international community has for decades refused to recognise the city as Israel’s capital without Palestinian agreement.
Ending nearly 70 years of U.S. foreign policy, Mr Trump announced that recognising Jerusalem was ‘a recognition of reality’. Israel’s parliament, supreme court and various government ministries are already all there. He insisted the move would strengthen rather than weaken the search for peace in the region.
Mr Trump, who has vowed to broker the ‘ultimate deal’, emphasised Protests: There was fury on the streets across the Arab world, but celebration in Jerusalem that the move did not contradict his administration’s commitment to finding lasting peace in the region and an agreement that was acceptable to both sides.
‘It is time to officially recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,’ he said. ‘This is a long overdue step to advance the peace process and to work towards a lasting agreement. While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. Today, I am delivering.’
Encouraging optimists, Mr Trump did not exclude Palestinians from their claim on the holy city. He was vague on whether the U.S. was recognising Jerusalem as the sole capital of Israel or whether the city could be split and also provide a Palestinian capital.
‘We are not taking a position of any final status issues, including the specific boundaries of the Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem or the resolution of contested borders,’ he said. ‘Those questions are up to the parties involved. The U.S. would support a two- state solution if agreed by both sides.’
Pope Francis said he was ‘profoundly concerned’ and appealed that all sides ‘respect the status quo’ of a city that is important to Jews, Christians and Muslims.
HOW the Left howled in 2012, when the Tory-led coalition compelled primary schools to teach reading by the traditional method of phonics – matching sounds with individual letters.
Hysterical members of the education establishment ‘Blob’ even likened the move to child abuse.
Yet now it’s official. Since phonics became compulsory, English primary school pupils have risen up the international league tables, achieving their highest reading standards for a generation.
Isn’t it now high time to re-examine some of the Blob’s other semi-religious beliefs, which have blighted children’s progress since the 1960s? What better start than bringing back selection?
THOUGH a firm friend of Israel, this paper has a deep sense of foreboding over Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the country’s capital. This seems a reckless and needless provocation of Arab sensibilities, from which only danger can come – not least to Israelis themselves. Mr Trump should concentrate on issues he understands well, such as tax reform, and let wiser counsels guide his handling of America’s influence abroad.