Trump still weighing whether to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital - Kushner

[webfact]

Trump still weighing whether to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital - Kushner

 

FILE PHOTO - White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner attends bilateral meetings held by U.S. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, November 9, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has not yet made a decision on whether to formally recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, his adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner said on Sunday, a move that would break with decades of U.S. policy and could fuel violence in the Middle East.

 

"He's still looking at a lot of different facts, and then when he makes his decision, he'll be the one to want to tell you, not me," Kushner said at an annual conference on U.S. policy in the Middle East organised by the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington.

 

A senior administration official said last week that Trump could make the announcement on Wednesday.

 

Kushner is leading Trump's efforts to restart long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, efforts that so far have shown little progress.

 

Past U.S. presidents have insisted that the status of Jerusalem -- home to sites holy to the Jewish, Muslim and Christian religions -- must be decided in negotiations. The Palestinians want Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, and the international community does not recognise Israel's claim on all of the city.

 

Any move by the United States to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital would fuel extremism and violence, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Saturday.

 

A senior Jordanian source said on Sunday that Amman, the current president of the Arab summit, has begun consultations on convening an emergency meeting of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation before Trump's expected declaration this week.

 

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Sandra Maler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-12-04

[nausea]

Stop messing about with these half- measures, just make it the capital of the US. I joke - five Hail Marys and three Our Fathers for me.

[Boon Mee]

Recognizing Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel is inevitable.

[soalbundy]

what's to weigh up Donald, it's a mistake, do it. I can hear the bombs going off already.

[newatthis]

1 hour ago, nausea said:

Stop messing about with these half- measures, just make it the capital of the US. I joke - five Hail Marys and three Our Fathers for me.

Or Washington DC the capital of Israel.

[Ulic]

Only a fool of a president would do it so obviously he will. 

[dexterm]

Prejudging a major final status issue, perhaps the thorniest of all, will reveal what we already know that the USA is not an honest broker when it comes to negotiating a two state solution.

 

But...no two state solution = one state solution. What will Israel then do with the 4.5 million Palestinians it inherits?
Ethnic cleansing?
Apartheid?
Equal citizenship?..which is what Abbas says he will push for if two state solution talks prove futile.

 

Trump could very well be helping Israel to shoot itself in the foot. Nice one, Donald.
 

[natway09]

Does the world really care what Trump thinks anyway ?

I bet if you asked him what the capital of Oz was he would say Sydney

The guys a goose !!

[Gillyflower]

2 minutes ago, natway09 said:

Does the world really care what Trump thinks anyway ?

I bet if you asked him what the capital of Oz was he would say Sydney

The guys a goose !!

You're very polite!!!!!  A GOOSE!!!!!!!

[johnnyonesock]

[Sir Swagman]

Ridiculous. The capital of Israel is 'I' everyone knows that.

[Srikcir]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

"He's still looking at a lot of different facts, and then when he makes his decision

Trump is expected to sign an order keeping the embassy in Tel Aviv. But he will couple that with a statement that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital

Trump to Keep Embassy in Tel Aviv, but Recognize Jerusalem as Capital

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/us/politics/trump-embassy-israel-jerusalem.html

So then the end of the two-state solution?

[Morch]

7 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

Recognizing Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel is inevitable.

 

It is inevitable that you'll make such a post.

[Morch]

1 hour ago, Srikcir said:

Trump is expected to sign an order keeping the embassy in Tel Aviv. But he will couple that with a statement that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital

Trump to Keep Embassy in Tel Aviv, but Recognize Jerusalem as Capital

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/us/politics/trump-embassy-israel-jerusalem.html

So then the end of the two-state solution?

 

So then the end of the two-state solution?

 

Err...no?

 

To relate a quote from the linked article: "The devil is in the details of what they announce". A two state solution does not imply that Jerusalem will not be Israel's capital, with one of the usually referenced formulations being the division of the city. It is almost certain, though, that no matter how such a hypothetical statement will be phrased, it will not go down well with the Palestinians (and probably most of the Arab/Muslim world) - rightly so, I might add. So in this sense, it might damage the administration's upcoming negotiations proposal, but that's not quite the same things as "an end".

 

Not the best of times for Trump to get stuck in one of them contradictory loops. And being the way he is, would be a little miracle if he could be dissuaded from making such foolish statements. Disheartening to know that even if this was managed, he's bound to make a later comment undermining the effort, the same way he often doubles back on things.

[soalbundy]

7 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

Recognizing Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel is inevitable.

The only thing Trump recognizes is a big Mac when it is half way in his mouth, a bigly Mac.

[Foozool]

He loves to make everything just worse than what it is in his own especial way. ?

It just could benefit Trump's business in someway !!! There is no benefit for The US., but trouble.

[rudi49jr]

I'm not sure Trump is even capable of 'weighing' anything. The man has the attention span of a three-year-old and his decision making process seems more like spur of the moment than anything else.

[Grouse]

I have been told that the Israelis are offering him asylum; I don't know if it's political or psychiatric though...

Edited December 4, 2017 by Grouse