US Slashes United Nations" Budget By $285 Million Following "Stunning" Jerusalem Rebuke

The United States announced a $285 million cut in the United Nations" "bloated" budget for next year, negotiated by UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. A statement by the United States Mission to the United Nations reads: 

Today, the United Nations agreed on a budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. ‎Among a host of other successes, the United States negotiated a reduction of over $285 million off the 2016-2017 final budget. In addition to these significant cost savings, we reduced the UN’s bloated management and support functions, bolstered support for key U.S. priorities throughout the world, and instilled more discipline and accountability throughout the UN system.

Pleased with the cuts, Haley added "you can be sure we’ll continue to look at ways to increase the UN’s efficiency‎ while protecting our interests." 

The move follows a contentious week at the U.N., after 128 nations voted in a "stunning rebuke" of President Trump"s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Prior to the vote, Trump threatened to cut foreign financial aid to any countries who opposed the move - first with a tweet by Ambassador Nikki Haley threatening that the US would be "taking names," followed by comments made by Trump to reporters last Tuesday, according to Reuters. 

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that vote in favor of a draft United Nations resolution against his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

 

“They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us. Well, we’re watching those votes. Let them vote against us. We’ll save a lot. We don’t care,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Haley also circulated a letter to all UN member states effectively warning them not to vote against Trump"s decision. "As you consider your vote, I want you to know that the President and U.S. take this vote personally," she wrote. "The President will be watching this vote carefully and has requested I report back on those countries who voted against us."

As we now know, this accomplished absolutely nothing: 

The full UN vote - which the US & Israel lost 128-9, with 35 brave abstentions - is here: pic.twitter.com/ZtrztqTgyK

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 21, 2017

As we wrote last week, The outcome of the vote was hailed as a "victory" by Palestine. “We will continue our efforts in the United Nations and at all international forums to put an end to this occupation and to establish our Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital,” Abbas" spokesman Nabil Abu Rudainah said. Predictably, both Israel and the US were displeased.

The General Assembly vote came days after the U.S. vetoed a similar resolution in the U.N. Security Council. The panel"s other 14 members voted in favor of that measure – a move that Haley called an "insult" to the U.S. Shortly after the Security Council vote, Arab and Muslim leaders at U.N. called for an emergency special session of the General Assembly to discuss the U.S."s Jerusalem decision.

In a defiant speech ahead of the General Assembly vote on Thursday, Riyad Al Maliki, the Palestinian foreign affairs minister, cast the Trump administration’s Jerusalem decision as an affront on regional peace and security that has isolated the U.S. from the international community. “Does the United States not wonder why it stands isolated in this position?” he asked.

Turkey, which has led the Muslim opposition to the US Jerusalem declaration, was among the first to speak at the meeting. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed that only a two-state solution and sticking to the 1967 borders can be a foundation for a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine. The minister said that since Jerusalem is the cradle for the “three monotheistic religions,” all of humanity should come together to preserve the status quo.

“The recent decision of a UN member state to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel violates the international law, including all relevant UN resolutions. This decision is an outrageous assault on all universal values,” Cavusoglu said.

The United States contributes approximately 22 percent of the U.N. budget - or around $3.3 billion, which President Trump asked the State Department to cut by over 50% in March.

U.S. officials in Washington and New York learned during the past week that they will be asked to find ways to cut spending on obligatory and voluntary U.N. programs by 50 to 60 percent from the International Organization Affairs Bureau’s account. State Department officials, for instance, were told that they should try to identify up to $1 billion in cuts in the U.N. peacekeeping budget, according to one source. The United States provides about $2.5 billion per year to fund peacekeepers. -Foreign Policy

U.S. diplomats warned key U.N. members during a March 9 meeting in New York to “expect a big financial restraint” on American spending – which is not surprising following President Trump’s comments from last December: 

The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 26, 2016

As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2016

Ambassador Haley was clear in her comments after the budget cut, telling the press "We will no longer let the generosity of the American people be taken advantage of or remain unchecked," adding "This historic reduction in spending – in addition to many other moves toward a more efficient and accountable UN – is a big step in the right direction.

Mike Pence Forced To Cancel Bethlehem Visit As Palestinian Christians Protest

This week a number of stories have come out highlighting the general perspective of Palestinian Christians in the context of President Trump"s controversial recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Some of these headlines include, "Nazareth cancels some Christmas festivities over Trump recognizing Jerusalem as Israel"s capital" or "Mike Pence to face bitter reception from Palestinian Christians as he visits the Middle East" or further, "Palestinian Christians: Jerusalem is for the three religions". Many Western audiences might be scratching their heads at such news as the first question that is often asked is, "who are the Palestinian Christians?".

Palestinian Christians protest Trump"s Jerusalem decision. Image source: Daily Sabah

Anger at Pence"s Visit

But as Vice President Pence prepares for his visit to Jerusalem this upcoming week (expected to land in Jerusalem Wednesday), which will include a contested visit to the Western Wall (which administration officials have promised will remain under the sovereignty of the Israeli state in any future agreement), Pence will be seeking the blessing of church officials based in the holy land - at least through the positive optics of brief official meetings and accompanying photo ops. 

Though an increasingly small minority in the region, the Palestinian Christian demographic and perspective has long been of huge symbolic importance when Western diplomats consider drastic steps or changes in policy related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially as they are seen as a kind of bridge between the culturally Christian West and the Islamic Middle East. But historically, they"ve often suffered persecution from both the Israeli and Muslim sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Thus far, the White House"s Jerusalem bombshell has met with condemnation and resistance from Palestinian and broader Middle East Christian leadership. Just prior to Trump"s December 6th announcement of the monumental shift in policy, Church leaders in Jerusalem wrote the president begging him not to go forward with a move they said would "increase hatred, conflict, violence and suffering", adding further that, "As the Christian leaders of Jerusalem, we invite you to walk with us in hope as we build a just, inclusive peace for all the peoples of this unique and Holy City."

Palestinian Christians speak out on Israeli occupation and Trump"s Jerusalem decision pic.twitter.com/f0KkNuBhCs

— TRT World (@trtworld) December 13, 2017

And with the arrival of Pence in Jerusalem and a scheduled tour of Bethlehem during the Christmas season, things are about to get more contentious as native Christians have promised to make their opposition visible through things like joining mass protests with their fellow Arab Palestinians and intentionally removing traditional public displays of Christmas.

As The Guardian reports, Pence has already essentially been banned from entering the Church of the Holy Nativity in Bethlehem, the place of Jesus" birth: 

One person, however, who will not be entering the church, barring a last-minute diplomatic miracle, is the US vice-president, Mike Pence. A proposed visit to Bethlehem and the Nativity church – now cancelled – had been intended as the highlight of a tour of the Middle East next week.

 

That tour has been thrown into disarray by Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and the consequent refusal of Palestinian and many Christian leaders to meet Pence.

Dwindling Numbers but Outsized Voice

Though throughout most of 20th century, Christians were still the majority in cities associated with the life of Jesus, their number in places like Bethlehem and Nazareth are down to about 15% and 30% respectively (and just 2% of the total Palestinian territories population). But their presence is immediately visible in such traditionally religious and touristic sites, as they inhabit the oldest quarters of the cities, and have maintained ownership of prime real estate which predates the modern era (going back to Byzantine times). For example, Israeli Parliament itself (the Knesset) sits on land owned by the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem.

So Christian Palestinians play out outsized role in the conflict given their dwindling numbers (most through mass emigration), and their reportedly widespread opposition to US policy will make things awkward during Pence"s visit. Current protests include the following according to The Washington Post:

• "In the West Bank city of Bethlehem... religious leaders turned off the city’s Christmas tree lights last week to protest the White House announcement.


• In the city, the writing is on the wall: “Mr PENCE you are not welcome,” someone has scrawled in red spray paint on the 26-foot-high concrete Israeli security barrier that separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem.


• On Sunday, demonstrators staged a sit-in outside the Church of the Nativity, built on the site thought to be the birthplace of Jesus. “We will not receive Mr. Pence here,” said Saleh Bandak, a Bethlehem-born Christian politician who attended Sunday’s protest.


• ...The pope of the Egyptian Coptic Church, who leads the largest Christian denomination in the Middle East, has called off a scheduled meeting with Pence in Cairo. 


• The Chaldean Church in Iraq warned this week that the White House move on Jerusalem risks sparking regional violence and extremism and demanded that the Trump administration respect U.N. resolutions on the city."

And the Washington Post also highlights an interesting contradiction - the perception within the Palestinian Christian community that their American co-religionists are actually hurting and not helping them. The Washington Post explains:

While the news has been badly received among Christian communities in the Middle East, the move was in part a political gesture aimed at Christians: white evangelical voters, who backed Trump overwhelmingly in last year’s presidential election. American evangelical Christians — who believe that the right of the Jews to Jerusalem is enshrined in the Bible and that their presence there will usher in Judgment Day — were a powerful lobbying force behind the decision. 

 

Palestinian Christians complain that Christian evangelicals’ support of Israel doesn’t take into consideration the rights and needs of Christians in the homeland of their religion.

 

“This is where it all started,” said the Rev. Mitri Raheb, a Lutheran pastor in Bethlehem. “The Bible originated in Palestine, not in the Bible Belt, but people in the Bible Belt read the Bible in a way that really makes our lives difficult.”

Persecution from the Israeli State

Palestinian Church leaders tend to complain that Israel can sell its expansionist policies to the Western public if it can maintain a simplistic black-and-white narrative of an Israeli Jewish fight against a sea of Arab Muslims. This ultimately serves to underscore the narrative that "Palestinian Arab" is the equivalent of being Muslim.

However, there are other large sectors within Palestinian society that lack affiliation with Islam: secularists, communists, Arab nationalist, and Druze among them. It is also an inconvenient fact which frustrates the "Muslim vs. Jewish" narrative that the oldest identity when it comes to the Palestinian Arab demographic is represented in the Christian segment of the population. 

And as much of the reporting from this week has affirmed, Christian Palestinians as a demographic are overwhelmingly against the modern state of Israel and its expansionist policies. They point out that Israeli bulldozers level Christian villages just as they do Muslim villages. Christians also certainly suffer from occasional random acts of violence from West Bank and Gaza Islamic fundamentalist groups, but the consistent message of Palestinian Christians is that they are ultimately victims of multiple decades of Israeli persecution and land grabs.

Beit Sahour, a Christian village in the West Bank, just east of Bethlehem. An encroaching Israeli settlement sits atop the far hill. Image source: Sandbox Ruminations

Within the West Bank and Gaza, a Christian Palestinian resistance movement centered in places like Beit Sahour – the Christian village (outside of Bethlehem) which pioneered a nonviolent resistance movement during the First and Second Intifadas - has gained some international attention during both Intifiadas.

In 1989 for example (during the First Intifada), diplomats from Britain, France, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden attempted to gain access to Beit Sahour during a complete Israeli siege and blockade of the Christian town. These diplomats were prevented from entering as the Israeli Defense Forces did house to house searches and seizures. During the Second Intifada, multiple Christian youths were killed and wounded as the IDF again attempted to bring the town into compliance.

Middle East Christians and American Misconceptions

More broadly, there are over 14 million Christians living in the Middle East (most are Eastern Orthodox, followed by Catholics), and these Christian communities, in their ancient origins, predate the existence of Islam. Further surprising for Western audiences to learn is that Arabic as a spoken language was used by Christians six centuries prior to the writing of the Koran, and Church history testifies to the presence of at least one Arab bishop at the Council of Nicaea, where the doctrine of the Trinity and the divine nature of Christ was formalized and promulgated. 

The Church of Saint Porphyrius is the oldest active church in Gaza city (dating back to 425 A.D.). Located in the Zaytun Quarter of the Old City, it is named after the 5th century bishop of Gaza, Saint Porphyrius, whose tomb is situated in the northeastern corner of the church. Image source: Al Azhar University, Gaza.

When most American Christians read the Bible and see names of ancient cities like Antioch, Damascus, Tyre, Sidon, Nazareth etc… identified with the earliest foundational Christian communities, this is often for them a sort of distant, mythic reference to a mysterious and obscure moment in time when “Biblical figures” happened to briefly stroll these ancient Eastern streets prior to these regions being engulfed in Islam. But even the popular idea that a “sea of Islam” definitively and with finality took over the whole Middle East in the 7th and 8th centuries is a myth – many urban centers, especially in the Levant remained entirely Christian throughout the middle ages and into the modern period.

Many of the Middle Eastern cities named in the Book of Acts still have skylines dominated by crosses and Byzantine style church domes to this day. Holy Cross Orthodox Church in the Qassaa neighborhood of Damascus, for example, counts about 10,000 people as members. One can even visit large urban churches in the Gaza Strip like the one pictured above. 

Concerning Pence"s imminent visit, it is unlikely that relations between Palestinian Christians and the US administration will improve even should church leaders decide to engage in formal dialogue. It will be interesting to see what develops.

Erdogan Calls Israel "Terrorist State That Kills Children", An Angry Netanyahu Responds

Relations between Israel and Turkey took a sharp turn for the worse on Sunday after their leaders exchanged accusations of involvement in terrorism, days after the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel"s capital. First, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would fight against the controversial declaration, describing Israel as a "terrorist state" that kills children, in a speech in Istanbul.

"Palestine is an innocent victim… as for Israel, it is a terrorist state, yes, terrorist!” Erdogan said in a speech in the central Turkish city of Sivas. "We will not abandon Jerusalem to the mercy of a state that kills children."

The Turkish leader has previously threatened to cut off ties with Israel if Trump follows through with his promise to move the US embassy. He has helped organize an international meeting of officials from Muslim majority countries to discuss how they should respond. Furthermore, he also warned that moving the embassy would represent an obstacle from a logistical standpoint.

Hours after Erdogan"s outburst, Israel"s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit back, calling his counterpart a leader who bombs Kurdish villagers and supports terrorists, during an official visit to Paris. While the two countries had normalised relations in recent years, Sunday"s flare-up came after Turkey was angered by US President Donald Trump"s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Furthermore, as we reported on Friday and Saturday, Trump"s move has sparked protests in Muslim and Arab countries for four days.

Erdogan earlier described the status of Jerusalem, whose eastern sector Palestinians see as the capital of their future state, as a "red line" for Muslims. Netanyahu was quick to counter the assault when he spoke later during a press conference alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.

"I am not used to receiving lectures about morality from a leader who bombs Kurdish villagers in his native Turkey, who jails journalists, who helps Iran go around international sanctions, and who helps terrorists, including in Gaza, kill innocent people," he said quoted by AFP. "That is not the man who is going to lecture us."

The tit for tat then continued, and the Israeli premier"s comments were immediately denounced by Erdogan"s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin who said: "Instead of taking on our country and our leader, the Israeli authorities would do better to end their occupation of the Palestinian territories."

Erdogan has used his position as the current chairman of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to call a summit of the pan-Islamic group on Wednesday. "We will show that applying the measure will not be as easy as that," he added on Sunday, referring to the US recognition of Jerusalem. He said it was "absurd" to deny the Jews" "ancient connection" to Jerusalem.

During his speech, Erdogan held a picture of what he said was a 14-year-old Palestinian boy from Hebron, in the Occupied West Bank, being dragged away by Israeli soldiers. Turkey and Israel had improved diplomatic ties in recent years but Erdogan has continued to defend the Palestinian cause and has regularly criticised Israeli policy.

"Death To America & Israel" - "Day Of Rage" Clashes Lead To First Post-Trump-Speech Deaths

At least two rioters have been killed during clashes with the Israeli army along the border of the Gaza strip on Friday. And of course, the media didn"t hesitate to blame their deaths on President Trump...

 

So, post #Trump"s announcement on #Jerusalem, we"ve had one anti-Semitic attack in the Netherlands, and a Palestinian has been shot dead near Gaza, with thousands injured. More of the same to come...

— Jack Mendel (@Mendelpol) December 8, 2017

 

Disturbances and demonstrations broke out in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip on Friday after Hamas, the terrorist organization that until recently exercised unilateral conrol over the Gaza Strip, called for Palestinians to rise up in a third Intifada against the Israelis while also declaring Friday a "Day of Rage following Trump"s Wednesday decision to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and ordered the State Department to begin preparations to move the US embassy there. While most of Israel"s administrative services are based in West Jerusalem, most embassies and foreign diplomats are based in Tel Aviv.

While Trump"s decision sparked outrage among leaders of the Muslim world and even drew a rebuke from the UN Security Council, the president pointed out in a late-night tweet that every former US president since at least Bill Clinton has promised to recognize Jerusalem as the capital.

 

I fulfilled my campaign promise - others didn’t! pic.twitter.com/bYdaOHmPVJ

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 8, 2017

 

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reported that two people were killed and dozens injured in the clashes. One of those killed was Mohammad al-Masri, 30, who was fatally shot by the Israeli army east of Khan Younis in the enclave. The Washington Post reported that at least 35 people were injured in Gaza. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 245 people were injured in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The Israeli army said in a statement about the Gaza clashes that during “riots” by Palestinian protesters, “soldiers fired selectively towards two main instigators and hits were confirmed.”

Earlier, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said units stationed around the Old City of Jerusalem were "beefed up" with additional soldiers. However, he said there were no restrictions on Muslim worshipers entering to pray at the holy Haram al-Sharif compound, home of the renowned al-Aqsa Mosque.

Some scuffles broke out between demonstrators and border police near the Austrian hospice in Jerusalem’s Old City. In Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinians demonstrated after the end of Friday prayers, and clashes broke out between hundreds of youths and Israeli forces along the border between the enclave and Israel.

Meanwhile, at the al-Alqsa Mosque compound, thousands of worshipers filed in for the midday Friday prayers without incident.

“We usually come on Fridays, but today has special meaning,” said Noor Shaheen, 24, as she left prayers. She said the fact that Israeli authorities had not put restrictions on who could come to prayers on Friday had eased tensions, adding that Palestinians in Jerusalem were weary of protests.

“We are tired,” she said. “It’s hard to make action without thinking of the reaction.”

Of course, not all Palestinians see Trump"s decision as a declaration of war against the Muslim world..

According to WaPo, Ahmed Aduelhawa, 60, said Palestinians in Jerusalem did not want to give Israel “an excuse to humiliate us” and that Trump’s declaration “doesn’t matter.” He said: “The future of Jerusalem isn’t in Trump’s hands, not in Abbas’s hands, not in Netanyahu’s hands, it’s in God’s hands."

Clashes were later reported in the West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Ramallah.

On Friday, the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, staged military parades in which masked men wearing military uniforms carried rifles and shells.

The participants chanted slogans against the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, calling for a revolt against Israel to “liberate Jerusalem from occupation."

The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet Friday after eight countries on the 15-member body requested a briefing on the U.S. decision, which the Palestinians claim breaches U.N. resolutions and international law.

Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the US Embassy in neighboring Jordan holding placards reading “Decision Rejected” and “No to US arrogance.” Criticism continued to flow in from governments in the Middle East, Europe and beyond, as U.S. friends and adversaries alike voiced disapproval and alarm.

 

A confrontation between protesters and security forces erupts near #USEmbassy in #Amman #?????_?????_?????? #????? #????? pic.twitter.com/N0mCWGSq2p

— Alisa Zaira Reznick (@AlisaReznick) December 8, 2017

Demonstrators also gathered outside the US embassy in Malaysia...

 

Protest happening in Malaysia right now! #jerusalem pic.twitter.com/TplrLtrpLL

— zakimits ???????????????? (@zakimits) December 8, 2017

 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan predicted that the region would ignite in a “ring of fire,” while European leaders reiterated their opposition to the policy, and 86-year-old Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu declared, “God is weeping."

The leaders of Saudi Arabia also warned of the fallout from Trump"s decision.

US institutions in the region were also preparing for possible violent fallout. The State Department restricted travel for U.S. government employees in Jerusalem and the West Bank, warning U.S. citizens to avoid crowded areas. Of course, it"s still early evening in Israel...

...Meaning there"s still plenty of time for more casualty reports before the day is over.

 

Trump Reportedly Tells Abbas He Intends To Move Embassy To Jerusalem

After warning that he could officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel"s capital by the end of the week - an announcement that drew vociferous objections from Turkey and Saudi Arabia, who both warned that such a declaration would irreparably damage US ties with the Muslim world - Palestinian sources are reporting that President Donald Trump told Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas that the US intends to eventually move its embassy to Jerusalem - a contested city that is claimed as a capital by both Israel and the Palestinian territories.

As we noted earlier, the decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel"s capital would infuriate Palestinians.

Majdi Khaldi, a diplomatic adviser of President Mahmoud Abbas, said the Palestinian leadership would "stop contacts" with the US if Trump recognized Jerusalem – making Jared Kushner’s job of solving the Israel-Palestine conflict even more difficult than it already is. Khaldi said the US would lose credibility as a mediator in the Middle East if the US President went ahead with the move. Kushner had earlier said Trump hadn"t made a final decision.

On the call with Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other regional leaders, Abbas warned Trump that moving the embassy could have "dangerous consequences."

Readouts of the calls are expected later Tuesday.

Trump was expected to announce as soon as Wednesday that the US would recognize Jerusalem as Israel"s capital and move its embassy there (though some expected that he would delay the embassy move, but stress that he would eventually like to do so, according to local Israeli media.)

Israel considers Jerusalem its true capital, and the western part of the city is host to many of the Israeli state"s administrative functions.

If Trump follows through with what he told Abbas, his actions this week would be considerably more dramatic than anticipated.

 

 

 

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.