US officials blow up surprise: Trump will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel

Alsumaria News / Baghdad 
examines US President, Donald Trump , the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel , in a move to end US policy for decades continued to threaten to increase tensions in the Middle East, but it is expected to delay the implementation of his promise to move the US embassy there. 

After months of intensive deliberations at the White House, Trump is likely to issue a declaration next week that seeks to strike a balance between political demands at home and the pressures on an issue at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - the status of Jerusalem.




Officials said Trump was considering a plan, under which Jerusalem would be declared the capital of Israel, to take a course contrary to the commitments of his predecessors, who have long insisted that this issue should be determined through peace negotiations. 

Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. The international community does not recognize Israel's claim to its right to the entire city. 

Trump's decision may be angered by a presidential statement or a speech by the Palestinians, as well as by the Arab world, and undermines his newborn administration's bid to resume long-stalled Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. 

The move could satisfy the right-wing pro-Israel movement that helped Trump win the presidential election, as well as the Israeli government, Washington's close ally. 

Officials are likely to follow Trump's approach to his predecessors by signing a six-month decision to apply a law dating back to 1995 that would transfer the US Embassy fromTel Aviv to Jerusalem. 

One of the options, Trump said, was to instruct his aides to develop a long-term plan for the relocation of the embassy, ​​making his intention to do so clear. 

But US officials, who asked not to be named, warned that the plan was not yet complete and that Trump might change parts of it. 

"No decision has been made yet," US State Department spokesman Heather Neuert said Thursday (November 30th, 2017). 


Electoral pledge 

Trump pledged in the presidential election campaign last year to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. 

But he postponed in June to do so, citing his desire to give a chance to a peace campaign led by his brother-in-law and close adviser Garrid Kouchner. 

These efforts have made little progress.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the main obstacles to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. 

Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 and annexed it later, in a move not recognized internationally. 

Palestinian leaders, Arab governments and Western allies have long urged Trump not to press ahead with the transfer of the embassy, ​​as it would effectively recognize Israel's claim to Jerusalem as its capital. 

However, any decision by Trump to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel , even if he did not issue an order to transfer the embassy, ​​would certainly unleash a wave of international outrage. 

The key question will be whether the decision will come out in a formal presidential step or a personal statement by Trump? 

And some of his top aides urge him to fulfill his electoral promise; to please his supporters, while others warn of the possibility of damaging Washington's relations with the Muslim world.