The decision to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem at the same time as declaring that the US recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, may prove to be the defining controversy of his first year in office. Palestine and Turkey claim that the Trump recognition and the decision to move the American embassy are in breach of international law and the UN resolutions. The decision was welcomed by Israeli PM Netanyahu who called it a “courageous and just decision” and “historic.”Thus far all of the above was entirely predictable. Reuters is reporting that the US had asked the Israelis to be moderate in their response, and that the Europeans were to understand that the Trump decision was in no way a prejudgment of the ‘final status’ of Jerusalem and its sovereignty. The physical move of the embassy to Jerusalem is going to take at least two years even if construction starts this year.

Source: The Express Tribune December 08, 2017 04:52 UTC