Trump May Recognize Jerusalem As Israel"s Capital Next Week

Submitted by South Front

On Friday a senior US official told Reuters that US President Donald Trump may deliver a speech next Wednesday recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Some Middle East experts speculate that such a move will be a major blow to the US relations with Arab countries and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. No US president or any western leader have ever recognized Israel’s control over all of Jerusalem.

However, a spokesperson with the White House National Security Council denied these claims and told Reuters that the White House has “nothing to announce”.

Israel flag with a view of old city Jerusalem and the Western wall. Image via South Front.

President Trump had promised during his presidential campaign in 2016 that he will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Many experts doubted Trump’s promises back then and didn’t believe that a US president could take such a dangerous step. However many recent reports have claimed that the US president is close to announcing this historical decision.

Trump said on October 8 that he wanted to give a shot at achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians before moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Since then, no real effort has been made by the US to push the Israeli-Palestinian peace process forward.

“I want to give that a shot before I even think about moving the embassy to Jerusalem … If we can make peace between the Palestinians and Israel, I think it’ll lead to ultimately peace in the Middle East, which has to happen” Trump said during an interview on October 8 according to Reuters.

Saeb Erekat, a member of the Palestinian Parliament described the possible US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as “playing with fire”, according to Al-Jazeera. "Any American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel will bring about the end of the Jerusalem issue. This issue is weighty and dealing with it is playing with fire." Erekat"s full statement said.

Hamas also stated that the move would lead to an “escalation” of the “Jerusalem intifada.” Indeed, the Palestinian side will likely halt all negotiations if Trump fulfills his promise to Israel, and a new uprising in the Western Bank and a military escalation in Gaza Strip is also a possible outcome.

Chinese President Throws Weight Behind Israel/Palestine Peace, Two-State Solution

Authored by James Holbrooks via TheAntiMedia.org,

While hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for peace between Israel and Palestine and said an independent Palestinian state should be established “as soon as possible.”

“The conflict between Israel and Palestine has had a long lasting impact on the Middle East,” Xi said. “China appreciates that Israeli side will continue to tackle the Israeli-Palestinian issue on the issue of the ‘two-state solution.’”

China’s premier, Li Keqiang, had warmly received the Israeli prime minister on Monday in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.

“The Chinese people and the Jewish people are both great peoples of the world,” Li said at the meeting.

Netanyahu, similarly amenable, praised China as a world leader in technology and said there are many areas where the two nations can collaborate.

“And I would like to have the opportunity to exchange views with you and to see how we can cooperate together for the advancement of security, peace and stability, and prosperity,” Netanyahu said Monday.

He stuck to this note while speaking with the Chinese president on Tuesday.

“We have always believed, as we discussed on my previous visit,” Netanyahu said, “that Israel can be a partner, a junior partner, but a perfect partner for China in the development of a variety of technologies that change the way we live, how long we live, how healthy we live, the water we drink, the food we eat, the milk that we drink — in every area.”

In fact, in terms of trade, Netanyahu wants China to grant Israel a special status. Back in January, China set restrictions on its citizens’ overseas spending in an effort to boost domestic revenue. Now, the Israeli prime minister is asking China’s president for an economic waiver.

“I asked for an exemption on the general restrictions,” Netanyahu told reporters after his meeting with Xi on Tuesday. “I said that Israel’s a special case. It’s a technology powerhouse that has no market. It has significance for technology but it doesn’t have any significance in terms of volume on markets or currencies, or anything. Israel is very big in technology but small in market weight.”

The Israeli leader claims Xi is willing to go along with the idea, though no details of such an arrangement have been made public. Also unknown is whether such a deal would be contingent upon Israel seeking a peaceful two-state solution to its conflict with Palestine, as President Xi indicated Tuesday he supports.

Netanyahu appeared to have no comment in response to Xi’s remarks about a two-state solution.

In February, President Trump backed away from the White House’s long-purported goal of reaching that compromise, instead leaving the door open for whatever plan the two sides agree on.

“If Israel and the Palestinians are happy, I’m happy with the one they like the best,” the U.S. president said.

Israel Urges Jews To Leave France, Suspends "Working Ties" With Countries That Voted For UN Resolution

In an unexpected escalation that was not the result of Israel"s angry response to Friday"s UN vote which passed a resolution condemning the country"s settlements on occupied Palestinian territory, and which the US refused to veto, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Monday called on French Jews to leave their country to protest a Paris-hosted conference planned for next month aimed at restarting Palestine-Israel peace talks, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth has reported.

Avigdor Lieberman

According to Turkey"s Anadolu news agency, the Israeli government has repeatedly stated in recent months that it would not participate in the conference, which is scheduled to be held on Jan. 15 with the participation of representatives from 70 countries. Speaking at a meeting of his right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, Lieberman reportedly said: "Perhaps it"s time to tell the Jews of France, ‘This isn"t your country, this isn"t your land. Leave France and come to Israel’."

"That"s the only response to this plot," Lieberman added, in reference to the planned conference.

He also criticized the timing of the event, which will be held shortly before French presidential elections. "With France going to elections soon, this is not the time for a peace summit," the newspaper quoted Lieberman as saying. "It [the planned conference] is a tribunal against the State of Israel." He added: "This summit"s entire purpose is to undermine the State of Israel"s security and tarnish its good name."

According to the website of the Jewish Agency for Israel (a para-statal organization responsible for Jewish immigration to Israel), an estimated 1.5 million Jews live in Europe, roughly 600,000 of whom reside in France. According to Jewish Agency data, some 8,000 French Jews immigrated to Israel last year. An earlier report issued by the Israeli prime minister’s office found that 6,655 Jews had departed France for Israel in 2014, compared with 3,293 the previous year.

* * *

Then, in an expected escalation that was the result of Friday"s UN vote, CNN"s Jim Sciutto reported that Israel has suspended “working ties” with 12 nations that voted for a United Nations resolution condemning settlements. The suspension of diplomatic ties comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow last week to exact a “diplomatic and economic price” from the countries on the UN Security Council that passed the resolution, 14-0.

Breaking: #Israel suspends "working ties" with all 12 nations who voted for UN resolution on settlements - sources tell @eliselabottcnn

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) December 26, 2016

Those countries are: Britain, France, Russia, China, Japan, Ukraine, Angola, Egypt, Uruguay, Spain, Senegal and New Zealand https://t.co/NBpHt9PpZd

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) December 26, 2016

What it means: PM Netanyahu will not meet w/foreign ministers of those countries & their ambs will not be received at Israel"s FM

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) December 26, 2016

The countries were Britain, France, Russia, China, Japan, Ukraine, Angola, Egypt, Uruguay, Spain, Senegal and New Zealand, Malaysia. Israel does not have diplomatic ties with Venezuela or Malaysia, which also voted for the resolution.

Meanwhile, back in the US, Newt Gingrich continued his outspoken ways, and slammed President Obama for not vetoing the resolution, likening the move to a “war” against the key ally in the Middle East. “Why is the Obama team waging war against Israel? Why are they taking steps to isolate and then kill a democracy and an ally?” Gingrich tweeted.

“President-elect Trump must prepare a comprehensive offensive for Jan 29 to undo the damage to Israel the Obama team is inflicting."

“Congress should pass resolutions January 3-4 condemning Obama attacks on Israel and demanding he not participate in French or (U.N. Security Council) attacks,” Gingrich, a key Trump ally, wrote online.

The move was the culmination of years of strained ties between the White House and Israel over the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Trump was fiercely opposed to the resolution and vowed U.S. policy toward Israel will change when he takes office.

Then again, one wonders how much of the drama in the last few days is merely spoon-fed for public consumption: despite the alleged tension between the US and Israel, Obama approved a $38 Billion military aid package to Israel in September, the largest in U.S. history.

The 10-year aid packages underpin Washington’s Congressionally mandated requirement to help maintain Israel’s “qualitative military edge” in the region. According to the MOU, at least $3.8 billion a year in aid, up from $3.1 billion annually under the current pact, would be provided to Israel. Netanyahu had originally sought upwards of $4.5 billion a year. The new package for the first time will incorporate money for Israeli missile defense, which until now has been funded ad hoc by Congress. U.S. lawmakers have in recent years given Israel up to $600 million in annual discretionary funds for this purpose.

In short, ignore the pointed rhetoric and focus on the actions.

Netanyahu Lashes Out At "Shameful Ambush" By Obama; Looks Forward To Working With "Friend" Trump

Following yesterday"s unexpected vote in the United Nations, when the United States broke with a long-standing approach of diplomatically shielding Israel, and did not wield its veto power as it had on many prior occasions - a decision Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu called "shameful" - leading to the adoption of a resolution demanding an end to Israel settlement building, Israel said it would re-assess its ties with the United Nations.  It also said it would not comply with the resolution, suggesting it may now be a "rogue nation" when it comes to UN enforcement.

Israel for decades has pursued a policy of constructing Jewish settlements on territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war. Most countries view Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal and an obstacle to peace. Israel disagrees, citing a biblical connection to the land, and blames the failure of peace efforts on the Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel"s Jewish identity.

And, until yesterday, the US would traditionally turn its eyes away from global anti-Israel consensus (it, too, officially opposes the settlements) and always veto any UN decisions going against Israel.

Then everything changed, when defying heavy pressure from long-time ally Israel the United States abstained in the Security Council decision, which passed with 14 votes in favor. The decision to abstain from vote is one of the biggest American rebukes of its long-standing ally in recent memory and marked a final chapter in the icy relations between Netanyahu and Obama over the last eight years.

It was unclear if the Obama administration voted as it did mostly to spite Trump, who previously tweeted that Washington should use its veto, and after the vote tweeted that "as to the UN, things will be different after Jan. 20th."

Whatever the reason, Israel - and its leader - were furious: "I instructed the Foreign Ministry to complete within a month a re-evaluation of all our contacts with the United Nations, including the Israeli funding of U.N. institutions and the presence of U.N. representatives in Israel," Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks reported by Reuters.

"I have already instructed to stop about 30 million shekels ($7.8 million) in funding to five U.N. institutions, five bodies, that are especially hostile to Israel ... and there is more to come," he said, without naming the institutions or offering further details.

Netanyahu also lashed out at President Barack Obama on Saturday, accusing him of a "shameful ambush" at the United Nations and saying he is looking forward to working with his "friend" President-elect Donald Trump" according to AP. 

The resolution, while mostly symbolic, could hinder Israel"s negotiating position in future peace talks. Netanyahu also said the U.S abstention was "in complete contrast" to U.S. commitments, including one he said Obama made in 2011, not to impose conditions for a final agreement on Israel at the Security Council.

"The Obama Administration conducted a shameful anti-Israel ambush at the U.N.," Netanyahu said, calling the decision "distorted" but said that Israel will overcome it.

He said he spoke with U.S leaders, both Democrats and Republicans, who vowed to fight the move, including he said, from Israel"s "friend" in the incoming administration, i.e., Trump.

"The decision taken at the U.N. yesterday was part of the swan song of the old world biased against Israel," Netanyahu said. "We are entering a new era and as the President-elect Trump said yesterday, this is going to happen much quicker than people think. In this new era there is a high price for those trying to harm Israel," he said.

Needless to say, the Palestinians wholeheartedly welcomed the U.N. resolution.