Embassy move roils Mideast
International leaders denounce Trump’s decision to shift US facility to Jerusalem
Israel braced for violence as President Donald Trump announced a controversial decision Wednesday to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and begin the lengthy process of moving the U.S. Embassy there.
The news fueled international concern with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas calling the decision in a televised speech “a declaration of withdrawal from the role (the U.S.) has played in the peace process.”
Palestinian leaders in the West Bank and Gaza called for three “days of rage,” Al Jazeera reported Wednesday. Despite demonstrations that drew hundreds of Palestinians to the streets in Gaza City, there were few reports of violence.
Trump’s announcement fulfills a campaign promise and upends decades of U.S. foreign policy over contested Jerusalem. West Jerusalem is where Israel’s government is based, but Palestinians view east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
Trump is also instructing the State Department to begin the process of moving the embassy to Jerusalem.
Citing safety concerns, the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem restricted government employees and their families from travel to Jerusalem’s Old City and the West Bank. The State Department also advised American diplomatic posts in predominantly Muslim countries to be vigilant about possible protests.
Abbas warned that changing the sta-
tus of Jerusalem would have “dangerous consequences” for the “security and stability of the region and of the world.”
Abbas’ ruling Fatah Party tweeted images Tuesday of demonstrators burning photographs of Trump in Bethlehem’s Manger Square. And Ismail Haniya, the head of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, said Washington’s decision would be a “dangerous escalation” that crosses “every red line.”
Trump appears to view the move as a way to help secure what he has called the “ultimate deal” — peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Facebook video ahead of Trump’s Wednesday speech that Israel’s “historical and national identity is receiving important expressions every day, but especially today.” Netanyahu said later Wednesday that recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is “important step toward peace.”
International opposition to the move has grown. The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation said that changing Jerusalem’s status would amount to “naked aggression” against the Arab and Muslim world. The head of the Arab League said it would be a “dangerous measure that would have repercussion” across the entire Middle East.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud told Trump in a phone call that recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital or relocating the U.S. Embassy “would constitute a flagrant provocation of Muslims, all over the world.”
There were also warnings from Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In recent days, the European Union, Germany and France have all implored Trump not to take action on Jerusalem.
Pope Francis said he hoped the “status quo of the city” would be respected, asking that “wisdom and prudence prevail.”
“I cannot keep quiet about my deep worry about the situation that has been created in the last few days,” he said at his weekly audience at the Vatican.