A chorus of international leaders, including the Pope, criticised the Trump administration’s decision to officially recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, calling it a dangerous disruption that contravenes UN resolutions and could inflame one of the world’s thorniest conflicts.
Secretary-General António Guterres and Pope Francis both expressed alarm that the announcement, on Thursday (AEDT), would provoke new tensions in the Holy City, which is revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims.
Within minutes of Trump’s speech, in which he said the US Embassy would be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Guterres delivered what amounted to a diplomatic rebuke.
Reading a statement outside the Security Council chambers at UN headquarters in New York, Guterres criticised “any unilateral measures that would jeopardise the prospect of peace for Israelis and Palestinians”, underscoring the administration’s departure from decades of US policy.