Donald Trump risks 'destroying peace hopes of Israelis and Palestinians'
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.”
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.
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”.
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.
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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