DONALD TRUMP, JERUSALEM RECOGNITION: WHY IS US MOVING EMBASSY?

President Donald Trump has announced the US recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital during a speech in Washington. Picture: Evan Vucci/AP Source:AP

US President Donald Trump has declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The provocative move is huge for more reasons than one.

DONALD Trump has done what no other world leader has.

However, the United States President’s provocative move recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital isn’t without risk.

It also isn’t necessarily what everyone in Israel may even want.

That’s according to Lydia Khalil who said the move is likely to be seen in the Muslim world as the US siding with Israel.

Ms Khalil, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute’s West Asia program, also said Mr Trump’s move could hinder rather than help the peace process in the Middle East.

Mr Trump officially recognised the holy city as the capital of Israel and declared his intention to move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv.

“Today we finally acknowledge the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital,” he said.

“This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do.”

The US President also argued it was “long overdue”, given moving the embassy has been US policy since 1995.

However, critics argue it’s seen in the Muslim world as the US taking a side, while the President insists it’s not intended to reflect on other ongoing disagreements with the Palestinians.

Mr Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital despite intense Arab, Muslim and European opposition to a move that would up-end decades of US policy and risk potentially violent protests. Picture: Evan Vucci/APSource:AP

The move is highly controversial because Jerusalem shares sacred sites with Jewish, Islamic and Christian faiths.

Mr Trump’s decision could imply that Israel has sovereignty of East Jerusalem, which Palestinians seek as their capital under a two-state solution.

Some also critics argue the move goes against international law, Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera reported.

“East Jerusalem violates several principles under international law, which outlines that an occupying power does not have sovereignty in the territory it occupies,” Zena Tahhan and Farah Najjar wrote.

In 1980 Israel passed a law which recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which the UN Security Council viewed as a violation of international law.

All countries have their embassies in Tel Aviv and Israel’s claim over ownership of Jerusalem is not recognised by most of the international community — Russia recognised West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital this year.

An American flag flies over the US Consulate in Jerusalem a day before Mr Trump made his controversial announcement. Picture: Lior Mizrahi/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

WHO DOES IT HELP?

According to Ms Khalil, it may please some Israelis, but not all.

“This would appeal to some Israelis who want Jerusalem to be recognised as the capital,” she said. “Other Israelis will be worried by this because they fear a backlash and would prefer the final resolution of Jerusalem’s status as part of a two-state solution “

Many across the Middle East would regard this as the US taking sides and not acting like an honest peace broker.

WHY DID TRUMP DO IT?

Ms Khalil said Mr Trump’s rationale could be down to the influence of his son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner, who is Jewish and reflects the hard right position on Jerusalem.

She also said the President may have been trying to appeal to hard right factions within the Republican party including evangelists, conservative, and pro-Israel elements.

“There is a base in the Republican Party who have been agitating for this and there has been strong support from hard right Israelis,” she said.

“This is a constituency he is trying to get on side.”

Palestinian protesters burn tyres during a protest at the main Square in Gaza City as Mr Trump broke with decades of US and international policy by recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Picture: Adel Hana/APSource:AP

WHY IS IT SO CONTROVERSIAL?

Palestine Liberation Organisation secretary-general Saeb Erekat said the US President had “destroyed the two-state solution” and “disqualified his country from any role whatsoever” in the peace process.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Jewish people would be “forever grateful” to Mr Trump.

When the Arab-Israel war ended in 1948, it ended in an armistice rather than a treaty.

The 1947 UN Partition Plan divided Palestine between Jewish and Arab states and Jerusalem was supposed to be under international sovereignty and control.

Ms Khalil said many governments chose to either move or not establish embassies in Jerusalem as they didn’t want to be seen as taking sides.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem at the end of the 1967 War with Syria, Egypt and Jordan while the western half was captured in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

According to Al Jazeera, this occupation “effectively put the entire city under de facto Israeli control”.

“The reason the international community has held off recognising Jerusalem as the capital is because the matter has not been officially resolved and there is a long held position that the resolution of the matter should be part of a two-state solution,” Ms Khalil said.

Many nations, she said, were conscious of not up-ending or upsetting the agreement which was in place.

“There is perception in the middle of the US taking sides with Israelis but this is not new,” she added. “This is a long-held brief among many people in the Arab world, so the announcement doesn’t create that feeling but merely reinforces it.

“You will likely not be receiving a lot of push back from Middle Eastern Arab governments on this issue because they are closely aligned with Israel on Iran and Islamic State — and it’s likely that Trump would not have made this announcement without background or tacit OK by the Saudis.”

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said the United States can no longer play the role of peace broker after Donald Trump’s decision. Picture: AFP/Palestine TVSource:AFP

WHAT NEXT?

The President has directed the State Department to begin the process of building a new US embassy in Jerusalem that would be “a magnificent tribute to peace”.

The process of moving the embassy out of Tel Aviv is expected to take years.

Ms Khalil said there was no clear time line for the US embassy move and the announcement was light on detail.

Australian journalist Tracy Alexander, from i24news and host of a show called Perspectives, is based in Tel Aviv and said it was difficult to tell if the move would allow for a broader conversation about the issue of Israeli-Palestinian peace.

She said Israel was the third of the size of Tasmania, with 16 times the population and everyone wanted a piece of it, but the issue now boiled down to politics, trust, ideology and indoctrination.

Alexander said if Mr Trump’s move worked it will shake the region up and shuffle the deck, however, tomorrow would be the more telling indication of how things could unfold once the dust settles.

“We’ll see how the major players move,” she said.

People walk in a street at the Old City with Israeli flags hang on the back on in Jerusalem. Picture: Mizrahi/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

“Saudi Arabia’s role will be interesting, but the Palestinians now say they won’t come to the table with the US as broker, so where does this leave the ultimate deal?”

Alexander said Palestinians may feel humiliated by sitting down with Mr Trump, and it’s political suicide for its leaders, while the Israelis may have to make concessions.

“If Trump manages to pull this off, its as though he’s called everyone’s bluff after other leaders buckled in the face of threats of violence and instability from the Arab world,” she said.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

Palestinians may now be more reluctant to negotiate in any talks.

“If the decision goes ahead it will be a huge political, logistical and security issue,” Ms Khalil said. “During and after construction, this will come under considerable threat and will be a huge security risk.”