The Jerusalem Post
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WATCH: TRUMP ANNOUNCES US MOVING EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/WATCH-LIVE-Trump-delivers-much-anticipated-announcement-about-Jerusalem-517201
With Vice Pence Mike Pence looking on, US President Donald Trump gives a statement on Jerusalem, during which he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in Washington, US, December 6, 2017. (photo credit: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE)
SEOUL — President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital and would move its embassy there, upending decades of a diplomatic consensus over the status of the city pioneered by his predecessors.
Citing a 1995 law, the Jerusalem Embassy Act, compelling the president make the move absent national security risks, Trump said the time had come to recognize what everyone already knows to be true. "Jerusalem is the capital the Jewish people established in ancient times," he said. "Today Jerusalem is the seat of Israel's government."
"This is nothing more or less than a recognition of the reality," he added.
He directed the State Department to begin preparing the move, which may take years as the government scopes out a location, hires architects and plans for what is sure to be a challenging security environment.
Trump made the announcement despite fierce backlash from America's closest allies in recent days. European and Arab world leaders alike, including Britain, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and the pope, said that he was recklessly challenging a delicate status quo over the city, in which the international community has insisted its future must be determined in direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians themselves.
Trump said that his move does not change his commitment to that negotiated settlement– and underscored his commitment by endorsing a two-state solution for the first time.
"We want an agreement that is a great deal for the Israelis and a great deal for the Palestinians," he said. "The United States would support a two state solution if agreed to by both sides."
Trump said that his actions on Wednesday do not determine the "specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty" in the city, stating those would be "subject to final status negotiations between the parties." The Israeli government says that Jerusalem is its undivided and eternal capital, while Palestinians insist that a peace agreement must deliver them a sovereign state with a capital of its own in the city's eastern districts.
"We are not taking a position on any final status issues," Trump said.
But the international community did not immediately interpret Trump's moves in this way. Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, made remarks to the press shortly after Trump spoke urging calm, amid warnings from the State Department itself that violence may erupt following Trump's announcement.
"Jerusalem is a final status issue that must be resolved in final status negotiations between the two parties," Guterres stated. "In this moment of great tension, I want to make it clear there is no alternative to the two-state solution. There is no Plan B."
France's president, Emmanuel Macron, also called the decision "regrettable" and said the status of Jerusalem was not for one country to decide, but a matter of international security, of consensus and of law.
The administration's closest allies in the Arab world, on which it based its upcoming Mideast peace initiative, strongly condemned the move. Egypt said it refused to recognize it and warned of grave consequences. Turkey threatened to sever ties to Israel, and the State Department's office for embassy security warned of planned protests in all of its major cities.
Trump castigated past presidents as cowardly for failing to make the move earlier, "under the belief that delaying recognition of Jerusalem would advance the cause of peace."
"The record is in," he added: "After two decades of waivers, we are no closer to a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians."
"Old challenges demand new approaches. My announcement today marks the beginning of a new approach," Trump said in his announcement from the White House diplomatic reception room, flanked by Vice President Mike Pence, who has pushed for the move. Pence will be visiting Israel later this month.
Members of Israel's cabinet have praised the move as "destined" and "overdue." And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement praising Trump's action.
"We're profoundly grateful to the president for the courageous and just decision," Netanyahu said, calling the move one in furtherance of peace, "because there is no peace that does not include Jerusalem as the capital of Israel."
"This decision reflects the presidents commitment to an ancient and enduring truth," he added.
But the Palestinians have warned this marks a potentially fatal blow to Trump's burgeoning peace initiative, and Hamas has called for a new intifada– a violent uprising– in response.
In a forceful speech, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected Trump's claim that his move was actually a step towards peace– and said that, with his actions, the US had relinquished its historic role as broker.
"The US administration with this statement has chosen to go against all the international and bilateral agreements, and to ignore the international consensus," Abbas said in a televised address. "The United States is withdrawing from the role it has played in the peace process."
Abbas recounted Christian and Muslim history in the contested city, known in the Arab world as al-Quds, without acknowledging any Jewish history there.
"It's an attempt to change our history, and it will not succeed," he said. "It's a Palestinian city– an Arab city, a Christian city and a Muslim city."
President Trump Gives a Statement on Jerusalem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rw-0wH63_4
PM Netanyahu's Remarks on US President Trump's Statement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc1d30mCHbo
Erdoğan: Trump’s Jerusalem step ‘will throw the region into a ring of fire'
http://www.yenisafak.com/en/world/erdogan-trumps-jerusalem-step-will-throw-the-region-into-a-ring-of-fire-2880042
‘Trump’s declaration aims to stir up the region, not to bring peace,’ says President Erdoğan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday the United States' decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital completely disregarded a 1980 United Nations resolution regarding the status of the city.
“The U.S. president has disregarded the 1980 UN decision. Until now, no country in the world other than the U.S. and Israel has taken a step that is contrary to the 1980 UN resolution. Only these two countries have gone against it. It is not possible to understand what Trump wants to achieve,” Erdoğan said at Esenboğa Airport in the capital Ankara before leaving for a visit to Greece.
“Jerusalem was viewed as a place of worship for Muslims, Christians and Jews. It was the first kiblah of Muslims. Masjid al-Aqsa was our first kiblah. To take such a step will throw the region into a ring of fire. Political leaders should make peace, not cause disorder. Trump’s declaration aims to stir up the region, not to bring peace,” he added.
Erdoğan added that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will meet on Wednesday in Istanbul to discuss the Jerusalem decision. The OIC consists of 57 Muslim states spread across the globe.
The president also said that he would speak to Pope Francis on Thursday evening or on Friday regarding Trump’s decision on Jerusalem. Prior to Trump’s announcement, the Pope said on Wednesday that "recognizing the rights of all people" in the Holy Land is a primary condition for dialogue.
Stating that he has been continuing his telephone diplomacy over Jerusalem, Erdoğan said that he would also speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of Western countries such as Germany, Britain, France, and Spain about Trump’s decision.
“If he says ‘I am powerful, then I am right,’ he is wrong. Being powerful doesn’t mean being right.
"Those who are right are powerful. He should know this," argued Erdoğan.
Trump announced his decision despite widespread international opposition to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on Wednesday.
Jerusalem remains at the core of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem, now occupied by Israel, might eventually serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
During his election campaign last year, Trump repeatedly promised to relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Erdoğan: Trump’s Jerusalem step ‘will throw the region into a ring of fire'
U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital has set the region ablaze, said Turkey's president. Erdoğan slammed the moving, saying “Taking such a step throws particularly this region into a ring of fire. Mr. Trump, what are you trying to do? What kind of stance is this?” at Esenboğa Airport in the capital Ankara, before leaving for a visit to Greece.