Donald Trump has been urged by a number of Middle Eastern leaders not to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, ahead of a speech later today in which the US president is expected to announce his stance on the issue.
Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi has told US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that any move by Trump to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital would “trigger great anger in the Arab and Muslim world”, according to the BBC.
Many Arab countries say part of Jerusalem should be the capital of a future Palestinian state.
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has reportedly made a series of phone calls to world leaders to explain the dangers of accepting Israel’s claim to the city.
Publicly, he said: “Any American step related to the recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, or moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, represents a threat to the future of the peace process and is unacceptable for the Palestinians, Arabs and internationally.”
Trump is due to decide on whether he will sign a new six-monthly waiver to the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act, which mandates the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem, later today. During his presidential campaign, he made a promise to move the embassy.
“The suggestion that Trump could designate Jerusalem Israel’s capital was being touted as a step short of moving the embassy,” The Guardian says. “While largely symbolic, it is being fiercely opposed by a number of countries in the region.”
Last night, senior White House adviser Jared Kushner said Trump was “still looking at a lot of different facts” regarding Jerusalem.
