Is the US still a Mideast mediator?
Weeks of unrest at the Israeli border with Hamas-controlled Gaza took an especially violent turn on Monday. At least 52 Palestinians were killed and 2,400 wounded in what Israel forces called “violent riots.”
The clashes at the border coincided with events in Jerusalem where the U.S. took its first steps toward opening an embassy there.
President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, were on hand for the opening ceremony of what the BBC described as a “small interim embassy” inside the existing U.S. consulate in Jerusalem.
In a video message, President Trump said, “Israel is a sovereign nation with the right to determine its own capital, but for many years we failed to acknowledge the obvious.”
It was a particularly powerful moment for Israelis as Monday was also the 70th anniversary of Israel’s independence. But Palestinians say it is proof of America’s preference for Israel to control the whole of the city that is the disputed capital of both nations.
Tuesday, which Palestinians call “Nakba,” and is meant to mark the “catastrophe” (the day’s English meaning) of Israel’s creation, was expected to be even more bloody.
But going back to Jerusalem brings us to our Question of the Week. With the opening of U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, what is America’s next move?
Trump said the U.S. was still “committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement.” But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said America is “no longer a mediator in the Middle East” and compared the opening of the embassy to a controversial Israeli “settlement.”
Is the United States still a mediator in the Middle East? Is this all going to plan? Is the Trump administration talking tough like it has done with North Korea in hope of bringing Palestinians to the bargaining table?
Or has it only made things worse? Do you think we will see peace in the Middle East in our lifetimes?
Email your thoughts to Letters@Trentonian.com. Please include your full name and city of residence.
— Southern California News Group, Digital First Media
It was a particularly powerful moment for Israelis as Monday was also the 70th anniversary of Israel’s independence. But Palestinians say it is proof of America’s preference for Israel to control the whole of the city that is the disputed capital of both nations.