Donald Trump Risks 'Destroying Peace Hopes Of Israelis And Palestinians'
07 December 2017UN secretary
general opposes Washington unilateral move, as voices across world condemn
‘opportunity for extremists'
Patrick Wintour, The Guardian
Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has drawn an
angry and despairing response from global and regional leaders - who warned it
would destroy the peace process, strengthen extremists and weaken the standing
of the US in the world.
In an address to reporters moments after the US president had finished
speaking, the UN secretary general António Guterres said he opposed "any
unilateral measures that would jeopardise the prospect of peace for Israelis
and Palestinians".
"In this moment of great anxiety, I want to make it clear - there is no
alternative to the two-state solution," Guterres said. "There is no plan B."
Earlier on Wednesday Pope Francis had issued a heartfelt plea to Trump to
respect the status quo of the city, and to conform with UN resolutions. The
pope told thousands of people at his general audience: "I cannot keep quiet
about my deep worry about the situation that has been created in the last few
days."
He said he hoped "wisdom and prudence prevail, in order to avoid adding new
elements of tension to a global panorama that is already convulsed and marked
by so many cruel conflicts".
At the regional level, the response was universally hostile, including from
Saudi Arabia, a steadfast ally of the US. Riyadh said its continuing efforts
to negotiate a peace deal, starting with a unification of the Palestinian
leadership, would be damaged by the US plan. King Salman told Trump by
telephone that a change to Jerusalem's status would escalate regional tension,
Saudi media reported.
A spokesman for the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said the US was
"plunging the region and the world into a fire with no end in sight".
The Turkish foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, said he had told the US
secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, that Washington was making a grave mistake,
and the whole world was against the decision. Turkey has suggested it might
cut diplomatic ties with Israel if the embassy move goes ahead.
Lebanon said Trump's decision had put back the peace process by decades, and
that it threatened regional and perhaps global stability. Qatar's foreign
minister described it as a death sentence for all who seek peace. Jordan said
Trump had violated "international legitimacy".
There were reports of a protest outside the US consulate in Istanbul on
Wednesday evening. In Tunisia, a labour union described the announcement as a
declaration of war and called for a mass protest there.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, was the first western leader to reject
the announcement, saying the final status of Jerusalem had to be settled by
negotiation. He called for calm and for restraint from violence.
The British prime minister, Theresa May, said the UK opposed Trump's decision
on Jerusalem and called it "unhelpful in terms of the prospects for peace in
the region".
"We disagree with the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem and
recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital before a final status agreement,"
she said. "The British Embassy to Israel is based in Tel Aviv and we have no
plans to move it.
"Our position on the status of Jerusalem is clear and long-standing: it should
be determined in a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the
Palestinians, and Jerusalem should ultimately be the shared capital of the
Israeli and Palestinian states. In line with relevant security council
resolutions, we regard East Jerusalem as part of the Occupied Palestinian
Territories."
Both Germany and France updated travel advice to their citizens, warning of
possible clashes in Israel and the occupied territories.
At the request of Jordan and the Palestinians, an emergency meeting of Arab
foreign ministers will be held on Saturday. The Arab League warned that any
such recognition of Jerusalem would be a blatant attack on the Arab nation.
The Organisation for Islamic Co-operation will meet in Istanbul on 13 December
in a special session to co-ordinate a response.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said any move to recognise
Jerusalem as Israel's capital was made "out of despair and debility" because
"their hands are tied and they can't achieve their goals".
Khamenei, who is stridently anti-Israel, told government officials: "Victory
belongs to Islamic Ummah. Palestine will be free, the Palestinian nation will
achieve victory."
The UK's response was at the milder end of the spectrum. Speaking before
Trump's announcement, Boris Johnson, the British foreign secretary, said he
was concerned but that it was important to wait for the details of the
president's statement.
Before meeting Tillerson, Johnson said the decision "makes it more important
than ever that the long-awaited American proposals on the Middle East peace
process are now brought forward, that should happen as a matter of priority".
In London, the Jewish Board of Deputies president, Jonathan Arkush, welcomed
Trump's decision, saying it was bizarre that it should be seen as remarkable.
"Jerusalem has been the spiritual centre of Jewish life for 3,000 years, since
the time of King David," he said. "Given that Jerusalem is in fact
historically, presently and legally Israel's capital, the decision by many
countries not to formally recognise this has been an act of post-truth
petulance."
A Kremlin spokesman said the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, had expressed
his concern about the announcement, but was also waiting to hear Trump's
speech.
China's foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, told a regular news briefing
that the status of Jerusalem was a complicated and sensitive issue and China
was concerned the US decision "could sharpen regional conflict".
Speaking from Ramallah, Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO executive
committee, described the decision as "disastrous, disheartening and absolutely
irresponsible", adding: "It is not well thought out. It is in contradiction of
the basic tenets of peace. It shows bias and is an accommodation for
occupation, force and military violence.
"President Trump talks about reality, [but] what is reality? The only reality
is that law should be the basis for any recognition. He is trying to scuttle
the chances of peace. In his mad rush to show he is different from other
presidents he did not stop to think why other peace settlements failed."
"He is siding with the most racist and hard line government in the history of
Israel. and he cast his lot with them and so snubbed those that talked of
reconciliation. It will embolden extremists around the world."
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