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| A Flag flutters outside US Embassy in Tel Aviv |
Moving the US Embassy in Israel to contested Jerusalem
will inflame “the Islamic and Arab streets,” and will serve as a gift to
extremists, warned a top official from Jordan, one of Washington’s closest
allies in the volatile region.
The unambiguous warning was voiced by Mohammed Momani,
the Jordanian information minister, in response to US President-elect Donald
Trump’s statements on the issue, AP reported on Thursday.
The US Embassy move would be a “red line” for
Jordan, and would “inflame the Islamic and Arab streets,” Momani
said, adding that it would also serve as a “gift to extremists.” The
controversial plan “will have catastrophic implications on several levels,
including the regional situation,” the top official told AP.
There have been a number of signs over the past few
weeks which suggest that the relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem is likely to happen. Trump’s senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said in
December that the embassy move was “a very big priority” for the
president-elect.
Israeli officials, including Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat,
said they have been contacted about finding an appropriate location for the embassy
in the city. Washington already has a building in the Arnona neighborhood,
originally slated to accommodate the eventual US Embassy.
Trump has made several statements signaling a fresh
start for the special relationship between the two nations.
The incoming administration has already nominated David
Friedman, a prominent attorney who advised Trump on Israel during the
presidential campaign, to be the next US ambassador to Israel.
Friedman, who once was a columnist in several right-wing
media outlets, said he wants to “strengthen the unbreakable bond between
our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region.”
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| US President Donald Trump |
The relocation of the embassy, which would apparently
signify formal recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and acknowledgment
of Israeli jurisdiction over the occupied territory, will have a tremendous
impact on US allies in the Middle East.
Momani said that leaders in Middle Eastern capitals will
likely “think about different things and steps they should take in order
to stop this from happening” as it “will definitely affect the
bilateral relationship between countries in the region, including Jordan, and
the parties that will be related to such a decision.”
Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, such as the Al-Aqsa
Mosque, have been under Jordanian custodianship for decades. Following the 1967
Six-Day War, East Jerusalem and the West Bank were occupied by the Israelis,
resulting in long-lasting hostility between Israel and Jordan. Despite the 1994
Israel-Jordan peace treaty and Jordan’s status as US ally, Israeli rule over
East Jerusalem remains a sensitive issue in Jordan and beyond.
Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian National
Authority, said he does not believe Trump will fulfill his campaign promise. He
warns, however, of “irreversible” consequences if the embassy is
relocated, according to
the Times of Israel.
Saeb Erekat, Palestine’s top negotiator, said if the
embassy is moved, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) will withdraw its
recognition of Israel, thus undermining hope for Arab-Israeli reconciliation.
He added that it would be extremely difficult for US embassies to operate in
Arab countries, in part due to public anger over the planned move.
Russia does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital,
and maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv, as do most Western countries.
Palestine Will
‘Unleash All Weapons’ On US If Trump Moves Embassy To Jerusalem – UN Envoy
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| Israeli settlements springs up across occupied Palestine |
Palestine's UN envoy promised to make life “miserable”
for the White House if it transfers the US Embassy to Jerusalem, following
Donald Trump’s remarks suggesting an appeasement to Israel’s land claims in the
West Bank.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United
Nations, said in Washington on Friday that the move would represent a blatant
defiance of Palestine’s rights over occupied Jerusalem. Palestinians would fire
back, he said, according to
Haaretz.
Mansour, a US-educated diplomat, stressed the possible
transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem – partially occupied by the Israelis –
would be regarded as a belligerent act towards Palestine. “If they do
that, nobody should blame us for unleashing all of the weapons that we have in
the UN to defend ourselves and we have a lot of weapons in the UN,” he
said.
The Palestinian envoy asserted that he “can make
their [the US] lives miserable every day with precipitating a veto on my
admission as a member state,” however noting that appealing to the UN
Security Council is an unlikely option due to Washington’s right to veto.
The modern dispute over Jerusalem dates back to the 1947
UN partition plan that stipulated the creation of two independent states for
both Palestinians and Jews. Jerusalem, a symbolic city for Christians, Muslims,
and Judaists, was to be given special international status. The plan turned turned
into wishful thinking after Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967
Six-Day War with Arab states, declaring all of the city a unified capital in
1980.
Previous White House administrations never favored
recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but the shock results of the US
elections have fanned speculations that things might change dramatically.
In the middle of his election campaign in September,
Trump said Jerusalem has been “the eternal capital of the Jewish people
for over 3,000 years,” promising to accept it “as the undivided
capital of the state of Israel” if he is elected.
Later on Sunday, Trump told the New York Times he is
determined to reach “the ultimate deal” in the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict “and do it for humanity’s sake.” Nevertheless, his staff made it
clear that opposing the Israelis’ settlements in the occupied West Bank is no
longer a White House priority.
Speaking shortly after Trump delivered his victory
speech in New York, David Friedman, his Israel affairs adviser, told the
Jerusalem Post “there is every intention” to keep the campaign promise and
move the US Embassy to the city.
In the years to come, there “would be a stark
departure from the long-time American stance that Israeli construction in areas
captured in the 1967 Six-Day War makes it more difficult to reach a peace
agreement with the Palestinians,” Jason Greenblatt, Trump's chief legal
officer and a top executive at the Trump Organization, commented on Israel’s
Army Radio.
Trump’s victory was welcomed by the Israeli government.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this week the President-elect “is
a true friend of the state of Israel,” adding that “over the years,
you’ve expressed your support consistently, and I deeply appreciate it.”
Some members of Netanyahu’s right-wing cabinet claimed
that a new, openly pro-Israel policy in Washington is only a matter of time.
Naftali Bennett, Education Minister and head of the Bayit Yehudi party,
asserted that the era of two-state solution is over.
“Trump's victory,” he stated, “is
an opportunity for Israel to immediately retract the notion of a Palestinian
state... which would hurt our security and just cause. This is the position of
the president-elect, as written in his platform, and it should be our policy,
plain and simple.”
Critics of Trump’s presidency argue that he surrounded
himself with advisers having strong pro-Israel leanings, which would inevitably
bury hopes for the conflict to be solved.
Mansour, however, said he still believes there is a room
for maneuver. “Many candidates gave the same election promise but didn’t
implement it because what you do when you are campaigning is one thing but when
you have to deal with the legal thing it is something else,” he said.
Palestinians May
Reverse Recognition Of Israel If Trump Moves US Embassy To Jerusalem – Abbas
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| Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas |
Palestinians may reverse their recognition of Israel if
Donald Trump moves America’s Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Palestinian
President Mahmud Abbas said, adding that the move “would destroy the two-state
solution.”
“I wrote to president [-elect Donald] Trump to ask him
not to do it. Not only would this move deprive the United States of all legitimacy
in playing a role in conflict resolution, it would also destroy the two-state
solution,” Abbas said in an interview to Le
Figaro newspaper, as citedby AFP.
According to the Palestinian leader, if the transfer
takes place, “there would be several options for us, and we would discuss
them with Arab countries.”
“Reversing our recognition of the State of Israel is one
of them. But we hope that it doesn’t reach that point, and that, on the
contrary, we will be able to work with the next American
administration,” he added.
Abbas added that the upcoming conference on
Israeli-Palestinian relations in Paris “may be the last chance for
implementing” the two-state solution.
The dispute over Jerusalem dates back to 1947, when a UN
partition plan called for the creation of two independent states for Jews and
Palestinians. The city of Jerusalem, which is holy for Christians, Muslims, and
Jews, was to be given special international status.
However, the plan was never implemented, as war broke
out in the region. Israel seized East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War
with Arab states and declared the entire city its undivided capital in 1980.
The US embassy, as well as other foreign missions, is
located in Tel Aviv, Israel’s economic and diplomatic capital. Israel passed a
law proclaiming Jerusalem to be its capital back in 1980, although the majority
of UN members have not recognized it as such.
Although previous White House administrations have never
recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, President-elect Donald Trump has
adopted a very different tone.
In December, Trump’s senior adviser Kellyanne Conway
stated that moving the embassy was “a very big priority” for the
president-elect.
During the election campaign in September, Trump said
Jerusalem has been “the eternal capital of the Jewish people for over
3,000 years” and promised to accept it “as the undivided capital of
the state of Israel” if elected.
Trump’s apparent eagerness to fulfill his campaign
promise has received the backing of Jerusalem officials, who insist that the
move will be as easy as changing a sign on a building.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said in December that he was
confident Trump will deliver on his promise, adding that he has already spoken
to the president-elect’s team about the issue.
Trump’s UN Pick Nikki
Haley Shows Support For Israel, Hard Line On Russia
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| Nikki Harley |
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, nominated to be the
new US ambassador to the UN, told the Senate she would “always stand by Israel”
and took a hard line on Russia, clashing with positions taken by
President-elect Donald Trump.
Haley’s opening remarks at her
confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee revolved
around the recently adopted UN Security Council Resolution 2334 condemning
Israeli settlements, which she blamed on the Obama administration’s decision to
forego the US veto.
“I will never abstain when the United Nations takes any
action that comes in direct conflict with the interests and values of the
United States,” Haley told the lawmakers.
Admitting a lack of experience in foreign policy, the
US-born daughter of Punjabi Sikh immigrants – seated behind her, along with the
rest of her family, in-laws and friends – Haley argued she could bring a fresh
outlook to the UN. She also reassured the foreign policy establishment rattled
by Trump’s election that she agreed with many of their cherished causes.
“We are the moral compass of the world,” Haley told
lawmakers. “The US is the indispensable voice for freedom,” she
added. Her vision of the UN was “an international institution that honors
America’s commitment to freedom, democracy, and human rights.”
“I will be a strong voice for American principles and
American interests, even if that is not what other UN representatives want to
hear. The time has come for American strength once again,” the governor
said.
Haley reassured Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire)
that she would try to persuade the president about the importance of the UN and
change his mind on issues such as NATO, “an alliance that
matters.” She agreed with Sen. Todd Young (R-Indiana) that Russia was
complicit in the “genocide” taking place in Syria, for which the
Republican senator blamed President Bashar Assad.
On the subject of Russia, Haley agreed with Sen. Ben
Cardin (D-Maryland) that Crimea is part of Ukraine. The peninsula
overwhelmingly voted to join Russia after the February 2014 coup in Kiev.
“We have to make that very clear to them,” she
said. “Russia has to make positive actions before we lift any sanctions.”
While Haley agreed with Trump that the US will need
Russia’s help with fighting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), she
noted: “We cannot trust them and need to continue to be cautious.”
Trump’s announcement that he would nominate Haley to
replace Samantha Power as the US envoy to the UN came as a surprise, because
the governor was very much a part of the Republican establishment that opposed
him during the primary campaign.
“During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the
siren call of the angriest voices,” Haley had said in January 2016,
delivering the GOP response to President Barack Obama’s last State of the Union
address. “We must resist that temptation.”
When Trump accused her of being an embarrassment
and “weak” on immigration, Haley fired back with “Bless your
heart,” a serious Southern insult.
At her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, she was
introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), one of Trump’s most
outspoken critics in the Republican Party.
Israel Approves 560
New Illegal Homes In E. Jerusalem As Trump Takes Office
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| Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands |
Israel has approved an additional 560 housing units to
be constructed as part of its illegal settlement-building initiative in
occupied East Jerusalem. The announcement comes 48 hours after Donald Trump
took office as the 45th US president.
Israel Radio talked to the Chairman of Jerusalem city
hall’s Planning and Building committee, Meir Turgeman, who said the permits had
been in the works, but delayed until Barack Obama was out of office.
“I was told to wait until Trump takes office because he
has no problem with building in Jerusalem,” Turgeman told
Israel Radio, adding that there were hundreds more units awaiting approval.
Nabil Abu Rdainah, spokesman Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas, told Reuters: “We strongly condemn the Israeli decision
to approve the construction.”
After new approval was granted, Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu announced he had decided to lift restrictions on settlement
construction in East Jerusalem.
"There is no longer a need to coordinate
construction in the Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. We can build where
we want and as much as we want," the PM's
office statement read, Reuters reported.
Netanyahu also said he wants to allow construction of
Israeli settlement on all Palestinian territories, which Israel has occupied
since the 1967 Six-Day War.
"My vision is to enact sovereignty over all the
settlements," the statement added.
Obama – especially towards the end of his presidency –
was critical of Israel’s settlement expansion on the grounds that it was
destructive to regional peace and risked derailing a stable two-state solution.
In his final weeks as president, he had to explain to Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu why the US had withheld its traditional UN veto to block a
new resolution condemning the illegal settlements. The American veto has
protected Israel a great number of times before.
Trump, on the other hand, may take a different line, as
he edges US policy closer to Israel – most crucially, with plans to relocate
the embassy of the United States from Tel Aviv to disputed Jerusalem. This has
been welcomed warmly by the Israelis, while sending shock waves throughout the
Arab world – with Jordan openly declaring that the move may lead to an
explosion in radical Islamism, and Palestine threatening to revoke its
recognition of the Israeli state.
Israel’s final approval of the new building permits was
issued Sunday, marking a 180-degree reversal in Washington’s policy toward Tel
Aviv. But settlement-building was unlikely to stop anyway, given that in 2016
it was revealed that hundreds of projects were still in the pipeline, to be
built in the coming years.
The current projects, according to Reuters, had been
taken off the agenda in December at the last minute, following Netanyahu’s
orders not to anger outgoing US President Barack Obama.
But Israeli right-wingers expect Trump to be far more
cooperative on the matter.
Israel has been building in East Jerusalem and the West
Bank since 1967. The Palestinians believe East Jerusalem to be theirs. But
Israel has been forcefully denying Palestinians the territory.
The construction of these settlements, illegal under
international law, has been the subject of growing controversy, mounting
criticism from the international community, and a deteriorating security
situation between Israelis and desperate Palestinians.
According to Netanyahu, he will discuss the latest with
Trump over the phone on Sunday.
“Many matters face us, the Israeli-Palestinian issue,
the situation in Syria, the Iranian threat,” the Israeli PM
said.
Two days ago, the energy and infrastructures minister,
Yuval Steinirt, said in an interview to Army Radio that “we are all
praying that, alongside his sense of humor and colorful personality, Trump will
understand the weight of responsibility lying on his shoulders and will turn
out to be a courageous and serious president.”
He added, “I very much hope and believe that he
will move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.”
‘Assault On All Muslims:’
Jerusalem Grand Mufti Slams Potential US Embassy Move
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| The Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple of Mount |
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem has condemned the plans to
move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which were earlier
announced by President-elect Donald Trump. The mufti said it would be an
“assault” on every Muslim in the world.
"The pledge to move the embassy is not just an
assault against Palestinians but against Arabs and Muslims, who will not remain
silent," Muhammad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, said during
a sermon at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City, AFP reports.
"The transfer of the embassy violates international
charters and norms which recognize Jerusalem as an occupied city," he
added. Earlier, Palestinian leaders called for weekly Friday prayers at mosques
across the Middle East to protest Trump’s plans to move the US embassy to
Jerusalem.
They also stressed that such move could be regarded as
recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, thus sparking tensions across the
Middle East and seriously hampering peace efforts in the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas appealed to Russian
President Vladimir Putin to lend assistance in preventing the move. The plea
came in a letter that a top Palestinian official, Saeb Erekat, passed on to
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday.
"The letter asks President Putin to do what he can
about the information we have that President-elect Donald Trump will move the
embassy to Jerusalem, which for us is a red line and
dangerous," Erekat said after the meeting with Lavrov, as cited by
AFP.
Abbas also sent another letter to Trump, calling on him
not to move the embassy. The Palestinians also included the issue into the
agenda of the meeting of foreign ministers from the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation, which is due to take place in Malaysia on January 19.
Last Friday, Mohammed Momani, the Jordanian information
minister, warned against the relocation of the US embassy in Israel, stressing
that it would “inflame the Islamic and Arab streets” and become
a “gift to extremists.”
He went on to say that Middle Eastern countries would
likely “think about different things and steps they should take in order
to stop this from happening” as it “will definitely affect the
bilateral relationship between countries in the region, including Jordan, and
the parties that will be related to such a decision.”
In the meantime, there have been several signs
demonstrating that Trump could be serious about fulfilling this plan. Trump’s
senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said in December that the embassy move
was “a very big priority” for the president-elect.
Israeli officials, including Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, said they have been
contacted about finding an appropriate location for the embassy in the city.
Following the 1967 Six-Day War, East Jerusalem and the
West Bank were occupied by the Israelis and this issue still remains one of the
key stumbling blocks in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel
has proclaimed the whole of Jerusalem as its capital, while Palestinians regard
the eastern part of the city as the capital of their own future state.
The United States and most UN member states, including
Russia, which maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv, do not recognize Jerusalem as
Israel's capital.
Erekat said last week that if the embassy is moved, the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) will withdraw its recognition of
Israel, thus undermining hopes for Arab-Israeli reconciliation.
