Tag: Jerusalem

The pope used his Christmas address to call for Middle East peace after Trump’s Jerusalem decis

The following article by A.P. Joyce was posted on the Mic.com website December 25, 2017:

Donald Trump described meeting Pope Francis as the ‘honour of a lifetime’: AFP/Getty ImagesDonald Trump described meeting Pope Francis as the ‘honour of a lifetime’: AFP/Getty Images

On Christmas Day, Pope Francis delivered his annual address celebrating the Christian holiday and used the opportunity to take direct aim at Donald Trump’s controversial decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

During his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (speech to the city and to the world), the pope called on members of the Catholic church to pray for dialog between Israelis and Palestinians to resume, just days after the U.N. voted 128 to 9 to condemn the Trump administration for its decision.

Trump’s move has reignited latent tensions in the region and was widely condemned as an unnecessary provocation. For decades the U.S. has kept its Israeli embassy in Tel Aviv, and former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all decided not to move the embassy to Jerusalem, citing national security interests, CNN noted. Continue reading “The pope used his Christmas address to call for Middle East peace after Trump’s Jerusalem decis”

In Christmas Message Aimed at Trump, Abbas Says Palestinians Will Never Accept Any Peace Plan From U.S.

The following article by Jack Khoury was posted on the Haaretz website December 22, 2017:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Extraordinary Summit in Istanbul, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017. Emrah Yorulmaz/Pool Photo via AP

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas came out Friday against the American peace initiative and said the Palestinians would not accept any plan made by the Americans due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem, a move that was widely rejected by the world in a UN vote Thursday.

In a Christmas letter to Christians, Abbas wrote that the Palestinians will not “accept any plan from the U.S.” due to the White House’s “biased” support of Israel and its settlement policy. He also said the American plan “is not going to be based on the two-state solution on the 1967 border, nor is it going to be based on international law or UN resolutions.” Continue reading “In Christmas Message Aimed at Trump, Abbas Says Palestinians Will Never Accept Any Peace Plan From U.S.”

U.N. resoundingly rejects U.S. decision on Jerusalem in pointed rebuke

The following article by Carol Morello and Ruth Eglash was posted on the Washington Post website December 21, 2017:

On Dec. 21, the United Nations voted 128-9 in favor of rejecting President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. (Reuters)

The U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a measure rejecting the Trump administration’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, which was repeatedly criticized as undermining prospects for peace.

Despite blunt warnings that U.S. aid to countries that backed the resolution and even funding for the United Nations itself may be cut, the resolution on “illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of occupied Palestinian territory” got 128 votes. Only nine countries — including the United States and Israel — voted against it. Another 35 countries abstained, and 21 were absent. Continue reading “U.N. resoundingly rejects U.S. decision on Jerusalem in pointed rebuke”

Trump Threatens to End American Aid: ‘We’re Watching Those Votes’ at the U.N.

The following article by Mark Landler was posted on the New York Times website December 20, 2017:

President Trump met on Wednesday with his cabinet at the White House.CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump issued a threat on Wednesday to cut off American aid to any country that votes for a resolution at the United Nations condemning his recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Mr. Trump’s statement, delivered at a cabinet meeting in which he exulted over the passage of a tax overhaul, followed a letter to General Assembly members from the American ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley, in which she warned that the United States would take note of countries that voted in favor of the measure. Continue reading “Trump Threatens to End American Aid: ‘We’re Watching Those Votes’ at the U.N.”

U.S. vetoes U.N. resolution on Jerusalem

The following article by Kim Hjelmgaard was posted on the USA Today website December 18, 2017:

The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution Monday intended to invalidate President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

While the vote was certain to fail because Washington has a permanent veto on the 15-member council, it further isolates Trump on the world stage on the issue. Continue reading “U.S. vetoes U.N. resolution on Jerusalem”

While you weren’t looking: 5 stories from the Trump administration that aren’t about taxes

The following article by A.P. Joyce was posted on the mic.com website December 18, 2017:

The news this week was dominated by the historic election of Doug Jonesin Alabama and the ongoing machinations to try to pass the Republican tax bill before the senator is sworn in.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has been hard at work making consequential policy decisions that affect the U.S. and its relationship with the rest of the world.

Here’s what you might have missed: Continue reading “While you weren’t looking: 5 stories from the Trump administration that aren’t about taxes”

Palestinian leader rejects US role in peace process

The following article by Zeynep Bilginsoy and Sarah El Deeb was posted on the Associated Press website December 13, 2017:

ISTANBUL (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told an international summit Wednesday that the United States was unfit to mediate the Mideast conflict, marking a major policy shift after decades spent courting American goodwill.

He announced the shift, which came in response to President Donald Trump’s declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, at a summit of Muslim leaders that condemned the U.S. move and called for world recognition of a Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem. Continue reading “Palestinian leader rejects US role in peace process”

Trump Administration Blindsided Palestinian Leaders on Jerusalem Designation

The following article by David Kenner was posted on the foreignpolicy.com website December 8, 2017:

U.S. officials failed to mention the impending recognition of the holy city as Israel’s capital just days before Trump’s announcement.

Credit: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Just last week, Palestinian diplomats were cautiously optimistic that U.S. President Donald Trump was on a path that could deliver what the president termed the “ultimate deal” — a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

According to a senior Palestinian official, their optimism was bolstered by a series of interactions with Trump, culminating in a previously unreported meeting on Nov. 30. The meeting included Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner, Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt, and Deputy National Security Advisor Dina Powell, who met with three senior Palestinian intelligence and diplomatic officials.

The American side, however, did not inform the Palestinian delegation that Trump would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital at the meeting — even though the president had insisted on doing so in internal deliberations days earlier. Continue reading “Trump Administration Blindsided Palestinian Leaders on Jerusalem Designation”

Why Trump’s evangelical supporters welcome his move on Jerusalem

The following article by Julie Ingersoll, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Florida, was posted on the Conversation website December 7, 2017, and has been updated December 8, 2017:

Credit: Jusbe via Morguefile

President Trump’s announcement on Wednesday, Dec. 6 that the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel received widespread criticism. Observers quickly recognized the decision as related not so much to national security concerns as to domestic U.S. politics and promises candidate Trump made to his evangelical supporters, who welcomed the announcement..

Historian Diana Butler Bass posted on Twitter:

“Of all the possible theological dog-whistles to his evangelical base, this is the biggest. Trump is reminding them that he is carrying out God’s will to these Last Days.”

It is true that evangelicals have often noted that their support for Trump is based in their conviction that God can use the unlikeliest of men to enact his will. But how did conservative American Christians become invested in such a fine point of Middle East policy as whether the U.S. Embassy is in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem?

For many of President Trump’s evangelical supporters this is a key step in the progression of events leading to the second coming of Jesus. There’s an interesting story as to how that came to be. Continue reading “Why Trump’s evangelical supporters welcome his move on Jerusalem”

Legal impact of Trump’s Jerusalem decision still murky

The following article by Tracy WIlkinson was posted on the Los Angeles Times website December 7, 2017:

Credit: Associated Press

Administration officials sought Thursday to clarify President Trump’s declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel but raised more questions than they answered.

David Satterfield, acting assistant secretary of State for Near East affairs, said that although the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital, it has taken no position on what the contested city’s borders ultimately should be.

That would seem to leave open the possibility that part of the city could still belong to the Palestinians, as they have long claimed — or not. Continue reading “Legal impact of Trump’s Jerusalem decision still murky”