As inauguration day draws near, US allies in the Middle East, alongside Palestinian leaders and American diplomats, are warning President-elect Donald Trump to forget his campaign promise to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
A top government minister in Jordan, Israel’s pro-Western neighbour, said the embassy move from Tel Aviv to the contested city of Jerusalem would have “catastrophic consequences,” inflaming religious passions and rallying extremists in the region.
The Palestinians have also called the move “a red line” that would dash hopes for a two-state solution to their long-running conflict with the Israelis.
Palestinian leaders are now pleading with Trump not to do it. They have asked mosques around the world to offer prayers this Friday against the move.
“This is a message of protest,” said Mohammad Shtayyeh, a senior Palestinian official and former peace negotiator.
“The call for prayer is to say we don’t accept this,” he said, signalling how quickly the issue had moved from the diplomatic realm to the sectarian street.
The Palestinians also want churches to ring their bells Sunday in protest of the proposed move.
Shtayyeh said that if Trump moved the embassy to Jerusalem, the Palestine Liberation Organisation would consider revoking its recognition of the state of Israel. If such a threat is carried out, it would mark the collapse of the 1993 Oslo peace accords.
Read the full article by William Booth and Carol Morello at The Australian Financial Review.