Trump and israel

Thanks to US president Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city, Christmas this year has been ruined for Palestinian Christians.

Images of protesting youths re acting to trump’ s announcement has led to a huge drop in tourist numbers, which will have a serious financial impact on those for whom Christmas is a vital source of revenue.

I doubt that Mr Trump will lose sleep over that.

Israel’s annexation of the eastern side of the city has never been recognised internationally, and Trump’s intervention can be seen, not as a prudent move, but as a vainglorious gesture towards his popular predecessor Barack Obama, who was very generous towards Israel throughout his presidency. Indeed, his parting gift to the country when he left office was a military aid package of $38 billion.

This largesse did not save him from prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wrath after the US abstained from a United Nations Security Council resolution on 23 December last year condemning Israel’s settlements on the West Bank as a violation of international law, demanding the cessation of all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory and promoting the international consensus in favour of a two-state solution.

Mr Obama took the decision to abstain because of the lack of any meaningful peace process. Nothing has changed since then.

Mr Netanyahu’s subsequent retaliation, which included summoning the ambassadors of the unco-operative countries for a dressing-down on Christmas Day, set a precedent for Mr Trump, whose current ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, threatened to send those who failed to support Mr Trump’s controversial decision to the naughty chair. Names were duly taken.

CAROLYN TAYLOR Gagie bank, Wellbank,

Broughty Ferry