Tepid Response, So Far, to Trump’s Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital

The Sydney Morning Herald quotes USCPR Executive Director Yousef Munayyer on the implications of Trump’s announcement that the US recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

“This is something that Trump as a candidate and now once he came into office said he was going to do … but we all knew that Trump was not the traditional candidate,” said Dr Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights.

It’s very significant as it is a reversal of long-standing US policy.”

“By making this change today unilaterally, the President is changing the very foundations of the peace process that the Americans have been seeking to lead for decades”, he told Fairfax Media from Washington DC.

…

“Jerusalem was a central piece in two-state solution idea … which calls for a Palestinian state on the territory occupied since 1967 with East Jerusalem serving as the capital. With the US now pre-judging the outcome … they essentially have gifted to the Israelis before any negotiations around this core issue,” Mr Munayyer explained.

“What this will do is make clear to the increasingly small number of people who remain believing in the path of American-mediated negotiations realise that simply is not the path to peace.”

Read the article here.