Donald Trump has defied overwhelming global opposition by recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, but insisted that the highly controversial move would not derail his own administration’s bid to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” Trump said. Trump stressed that he was not stipulating how much of Jerusalem should be considered Israel’s capital. Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their own future state, and Trump did not rule out a future division of the city. The chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said: “President Trump just destroyed any policy of a two-state solution.”Saudi Arabia on Thursday criticised the decision, calling the move “unjustified and irresponsible”.

Source: The Guardian December 06, 2017 18:17 UTC