Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital could set the whole area on fire.
President Donald Trump announced today that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will move its embassy there, breaking with longtime U.S. policy and potentially threatening regional stability. Despite warnings from Western and Arab allies, Trump's White House speech will direct the State Department to begin looking for a site for an embassy in Jerusalem as part of what is expected to be a years-long process of relocating diplomatic operations from Tel Aviv. Trump's announcement drew sharp criticism and shock from literally all over the western and Muslim world. The simple reason being is that it destroys whatever hope there was for a peace proccess between Israelis and Palestinians, and for the two state solution, with East Jerusalem being the Palestinian state's future capital.
Washington’s Middle East allies have all warned against the dangerous repercussions of Trump’s decision. Turkey said it could go as far as breaking off diplomatic ties with Israel if the U.S. move goes ahead. The Turksih government spokesman said it would plunge the region into “a fire with no end in sight”.
President Trump visited Jerusalem earlier this year.
Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed it. The international community does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the entire city, home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian religions. No other country has its embassy in Jerusalem. The political benefits for Trump of the move are unclear, to say the least, and could be disastrous not just for Israel/Palestinian territories, but for the whole region. The decision can only destabilize an already volatile situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories, and in the neighboring states of Jordan and Lebanon, where a large percentage of the population are Palestinians, or decedents of Palestinians refugees who had to flee Palestine in 1948 and 1967. Trump says that this decision will help restart the peace process. He's wrong. The best analogy would be that the peace process is a car without gas. The problem is that Trump, instead of filling the car with gas in order to get it starting again, is pouring the gas all over the car, and then proceeds to light it up with a match, while telling everyone that this "new approach" will get the car moving again.
