Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel: the full text of the speech and the reaction of the parties

Photo: Flickr / The White House

US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and also ordered the American embassy to be moved to this city.

Edition “NEWS”Gives the full text of his speech on this subject.

Speech

“For 20 years, every candidate coming to the US presidency spoke of recognizing Jerusalem.

And after that, everyone competed in the ability to refuse the transfer of the embassy and recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. After 20 years of delays, refusals, and inventing excuses, we are closer than ever to this agreement.

Israel is a sovereign state with the right to a capital. Recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel brings peace closer than ever.

Jerusalem is the home of the Knesset, Israel's parliament. This is the home of the Israeli Supreme Court. This is the site of the residences of the Prime Minister and President of Israel. For decades, US presidents and heads of the State Department have come to visit Jerusalem. We stayed here and held meetings. So did I.

Jerusalem was and should remain the place where Jews pray near the Western Wall - their shrine. This place should remain the place where Muslims pray at Al-Aqsa, their shrine. This place should remain the place where Christians pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, their shrine. But Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. This is a fact, and it must be acknowledged, which is what I do.

I hand over an order to the US State Department to begin preparations for the transfer of the embassy to Jerusalem.

I want to emphasize that the recognition of Jerusalem will not affect my intentions to establish a just peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

The settlement issues - borders, exchange of territories, security - must be resolved by the parties involved in the conflict. The United States is committed to providing all necessary assistance to reach an agreement as quickly as possible. I call on the parties to maintain the status quo of the holy sites in Jerusalem.

The Middle East is a region with a rich history, magnificent and courageous people. Their children should inherit peace, not conflict.

It is time for young people to declare publicly that they are demanding peace.

I urge all Muslims, Christians and Jews to join us in the quest for universal and comprehensive peace.

God bless you all, Israel, the Palestinians and the United States,” the president said.

Reaction

On the eve of Trump’s statement, the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniya, stated that “there is no place for the State of Israel on Palestinian land” and warned about a “tough reaction” to the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

According to him, he talked with the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, and agreed to launch protest actions against the decision of Trump, reported “NEWS".

“The decision he made is tantamount to aggression against Palestinians, Muslims and all free people in the world. We warn that no one can predict how events will develop after such a decision is made, not only at the Palestinian level, but also at the level of the entire region. There will be no Israeli state on Palestinian soil. Jerusalem will become the capital of the State of Palestine,” Haniyeh said.

He added that after Trump’s decision on the peace process between Israel and Palestine should be forgotten.

“Jerusalem has been and will be Palestinian, Arab, Islamic. And nothing can change this reality,” he said.

On the territory of the autonomy are already burning flags of the United States and Israel.

Meanwhile, the US State Department sent a warning to its diplomatic missions demanding increased vigilance. American citizens are also advised to refrain from visiting East Jerusalem and the territories of Judea and Samaria for now due to the threat of “retribution” from Muslim extremists.

The Palestinians intend to file a complaint with the United Nations Security Council against the United States accusing them of violating international law relating to the status of Jerusalem.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also sharply criticized Trump’s statement: “Iran will not tolerate the statements that Trump makes regarding Jerusalem.”

At the same time, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, trying to defuse the situation, said that “President Trump is committed to the peace process” and his team is “working on new approaches to restart the process.”

In turn, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump's decision “courageous and fair” and thanked him for his determination.

“We are deeply grateful to the President for his courageous and just decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to prepare to move the United States Embassy here,” the head of the Israeli government said.

He added that such a decision brings a peaceful settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

“The president’s decision is an important step towards peace, since there can be no peace without Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel,” Netanyahu stressed.

He assured that the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel will not change the current situation regarding the holy places of the city: “I clearly declare: there will be no changes to the status quo regarding the holy places. Israel will always ensure religious freedom for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike."

Expert Commentary

The head of the American Jewish Congress, Jack Rosen, said that America should use other Middle Eastern countries to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and supported Trump’s decision to use Arab countries to put pressure on Palestinians.

“We are supporters of a regional solution, supporters of the fact that the American government was able to persuade the countries of the Persian Gulf and other neighbors of Israel to put pressure on the Palestinians, we consider this a very positive development. This is a situation we must take advantage of. The Arab countries surrounding Israel and Israel itself now have a common enemy or even enemies - Iran, ISIS, Hezbollah, Hamas and others. So this is the time for them to come together and work together to find a peaceful solution to the Palestinian problem,” Rosen said.

He clarified that one cannot say that Israel and Saudi Arabia, for example, suddenly became allies, but these states now have “common interests and goals” - to stop Iran’s nuclear program and this country’s support for terrorism, and also to come to peace in the region.

Rosen added that he had just returned from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, where he discovered “a change in their attitude towards Israel” - “they and Israel are looking for ways to open dialogue, open trade, they cooperate in the field of intelligence and weapons.”

Therefore, he expressed the hope that Arab countries will be able to exert pressure on the Palestinian Authority, which will help stabilize the situation in the region.

The head of the American Jewish Congress noted that Europe and the United States should take advantage of these developments to resolve the long-standing conflict in the Middle East.

“If Trump succeeds and brings peace to the Middle East, then perhaps he will be given the Nobel Peace Prize for this. This can be achieved by involving Arab countries in resolving the problem between the Palestinians and Israel so that they put pressure on the Palestinian Authority,” Rosen said.

История вопроса

Israelis consider Jerusalem their capital. Palestinians insist that the capital of the future Palestinian state should be located in the eastern part of Jerusalem. Washington favors talks between Palestinians and Israelis on the status of Jerusalem.

Israel declared Jerusalem its capital after the end of the War of Independence in 1949. In 1967, after the Six Day War, he captured East Jerusalem and united it with West, but the UN did not recognize this because of the claims of Palestine, so the city was divided into zones of influence and is considered an occupied territory, and all diplomatic missions of countries that have relations with Israel located mainly in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Herzliya.

In October 1995, the law on the embassy was passed by both chambers of Congress, which established that the US embassy in Israel should be transferred to Jerusalem no later than 31 in May 1999, and provided for strict budgetary sanctions against the US State Department in the event that this requirement was not met.

Since then, the actual failure to comply with the JEA by the US administration was possible only because every six months the US president signed a special decree on the postponement of measures to transfer the embassy. So did Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

In the introductory part of the JEA, it is stated that, according to international law and accepted custom, each sovereign nation independently determines the location of its capital. It is further noted that since 1950, Jerusalem has been the capital of the State of Israel, and that this city has the residence of its president, the office of the prime minister, the Knesset, the Supreme Court and other authorities.

The preamble also notes that, being the spiritual center of Judaism and a holy city for other religions, Jerusalem remained from 1948 to 1967 a divided city, and that during this period Israeli citizens of all faiths, as well as Jewish citizens of other countries, were denied access to holy places in Jordan-controlled part of Jerusalem.

With the change of this state of affairs after the Six Day War 1967, representatives of all religions are guaranteed free access to the holy places of reunited Jerusalem.

On this basis, the operational part of the JEA prescribed:

1. Jerusalem must remain an undivided city, in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected.
2. Jerusalem must be recognized by the United States as the capital of the State of Israel.
3. The US Embassy in Israel must be established in Jerusalem no later than 31 in May 1999.

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