The worldwide negative reaction to America’s declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is understandable. When President Donald Trump promised during his presidential campaign that he would recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, most Americans and the world at large took the promise with a pinch of salt. Many American presidential candidates had made similar promises.
None kept them. Yet, President Trump’s decision was not whimsical. It was based on the Jerusalem Embassy Act passed by the US Congress on October 23, 1955 which authorised the President to “initiate and fund the relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Other presidents had waived the implementation of the law. Trump decided to keep the promises.
The promises are not easy to keep because, first of all, keeping them amounts to breaking international law. Israelis were thrilled to have captured Jerusalem during the Six Day War, exactly 50 years ago. But the international community, represented by the United Nations, in resolution after resolution, for 50 years, never accepted Jerusalem as an Israeli possession. The 1967 borders between Israel and its Arab neighbours are the internationally recognised borders of Israel. Every other piece of territory is regarded as occupied territory.
It is a fundamental principle of international relations that nations cannot acquire territories by force of arms. Jerusalem, having been acquired by force of arms, cannot be legitimately claimed by Israel and that has been the default position of the international community for 50 years. The emotional attachment of Israelis to Jerusalem citing Biblical texts and Hebrew history is understandable, but avails little on this issue.
The civilised world must see Trump’s gambit for what it is – an act of provocation. It could also be a political diversion. The two powerful men happy with this controversial declaration are President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump’s declaration led to street protests in the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Indonesia, Morocco and Turkey, which seemingly now have died down. The Arab League has met and passed some resolutions condemning Trump’s stance. So have the 57-nation leaders of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) who met in Istanbul earlier last week. But, this is the calm before the storm. Europe, Russia and other influential nations must work very hard to avert a fresh outbreak of war in the Middle East. The United Nations Secretary General should appoint, without further delay, a special envoy to douse the tension and arrange peace talks to resolve this knotty issue. The sentiments in the Arab world are sore. The ordinary man in the street there thinks he has been let down by Arab leaders who are incapable of finding a solution to Israeli provocations.
The Palestinians are now in a state of despair, they think all hopes for their emancipation and statehood are lost, and they no longer have anything to lose if they embark on desperate actions. That is a dangerous situation, a tinder box which, when it explodes, would lead to another Middle East cataclysm. The IOC thinks the US declaration is “a deliberate undermining of all peace efforts, an impetus for extremism and terrorism.”
The special significance of Jerusalem to three of the world’s great religions – Christianity, Islam and Judaism – ought to have prevailed on President Trump to exercise caution. Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, has said Jerusalem is the “eternal capital of the State of Palestine”, just as Israel claims it as its “eternal indivisible capital” dating to antiquity. Both sides must be made to co-exist in peace and mutual respect. That is the duty of the international community.
There is no doubt that Trump was emboldened in his action by the schisms in the Arab world and the competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Yet, anyone familiar with the history of the region ought to realise the centrality of the two-state solution – of Israeli and Palestinian independent states living side by side within secure borders in peace and security. That is why the United Nations must resolve this impasse. It should exert its influence by making efforts to bring the two sides together for peace. Unless this is done, another violent eruption in the Middle East is only a matter of time.
