The future of Jerusalem is a key-question in the Middle-East-Conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
Both sides claim the holy town to be their capital. That is why the status of Jerusalem is declared open by the international community and should be matter of peace negotiations.
With the loose and provocative announcement to move the US-embassy to Jerusalem US-President Trump is damaging international consensus and acting as fire-starter.
US-President Trump sees America first and wants to make America great again. Primeminister Netanjahu sees Israel first and wants to make Israel bigger by building settlements in the Westbank and East Jerusalem. These two nationalists will understand each other brilliantly, whether they may sometimes understand the demands of the Arab and muslim people in the Middle-East and the point of view of the international community has to be waited for.
- It is a matter of fact that the “two-states-solution” is at the time the only thinkable way to reach a peace-agreement between Israel and Palestine.
- Prime minister Netanjahu pays lip-service to such a solution but day by day he produces facts to hinder such an agreement by building one illegal settlement after the other on Palestinian soil – thus hindering all peace-endeavours.
- That is why the UN-Security-Council agreed – with US-abstention -on Resolution 2334 which directs Israel to stop building settlements on occupied Palestinian ground in the Westbank, including East-Jerusalem. Directly after the resolution Israel announced that it will not respect this “traitorous” decision of the international community.
- Israels main effort is to combat terror by all means but the Israelis do nothing to change or correct the reasons for terrorist acts of very young Palestinians who do not see a good future and have no perspective for a decent life in their country because of occupation and ongoing settlements. The next real intifada seems not far away.
- Only two days after the inauguration of president Trump Israel announced plans for the new units in about a dozen settlements a week after approving 2,500 homes in the West Bank and 566 in East Jerusalem. This week Israel approved 3,000 more housing units in the occupied West Bank. This will cause new terror against Israel.
- In this dangerous situation Israel is encouraged to go on with illegal actions by the announcements of President Trump to possibly move the US-embassy to Jerusalem and to send David Friedman – a radical supporter of the settlement-policy and a non-professional “diplomat” – as the new ambassador to Israel.
- By this obvious disregard if not scorn of the international community Israel will lose friends and isolate itself even further. Israel might illegally “gain ground” by settlings in occupied territory and thus become “bigger” but being dependant from the support of the international community Israel will lose in many aspect by further isolation. By the policy of the actual far-right-wing government Israel will not become greater!
- In the meantime the US-administration has announced that the final decision to move the US-embassy to Jerusalem has not been taken yet. This is good news – for the moment. We will see what the results will be of the talks between Trump and Netanjahu
The polit-apprentice Trump should not use his belly or untrained political instinct but seek some advice from political experts. Because already the simple “consideration” of Trump via Twitter to move the US-embassy to Jerusalem caused the Palestinians to threaten with severe reactions. Should Trump really decide to move the embassy he will provoke the lasting hostility of the whole arab and muslim world against Israel and the US. If Trump is a friend of Israel and really wants peace he should deny the plans to move the embassy and force Israel to accept UN-resolution 2334, to stop further settlements and to really start with peace-negotiations.
For the moment Trump provokes more violence and terror in the Middle-East. He is more a fire-raiser than a reasonable politician. And if Trump wants to make America great again he should not isolate the US from the international community because this isolation will not be “splendid”!
Read as well why Trump and Israel need a real peace plan of hawk and dove, uzi and olive branch.