Trump Recognizes Jerusalem as Israeli Capital, Says Final Borders Up to Israel, Palestinians

This is a major move and certainly was done with the Saudi's knowledge.  Add in the ineffective bleating of  Egypt, Jordon and Syria and you know that all opposition support for the Palestinian cause is spent.  No one is rattling a saber anywhere and essentially everyone is saying what they must and no more.

Palestinian strategy from day one was been to demand the unilateral removal of the Israelis from the Middle East.  Israeli strategy has been to offer fair terms from day one up to the point of military confrontation and then take possession of land to impose a cost for the total lack of good faith negotiation.

Every Palestinian rejection has resulted in a worse deal. At this point, the whole Arab world has walked away from this nonsense and will not be back.  Their one putative ally is Iran who wants to nuke Jerusalem which will serve to kill most Palestinians.  You get my point.

There is a peace here but it must be imposed as per my earlier postings through the creation of connected Palestinian City States and a greater Israel allowing managed access and ownership within Israel.  This formula will also work world wide for similar situations.

Now add in that Egypt, the Saudis, and Jordon have common cause with Israel as well with Israel clearly the senior partner and reality takes over.

.

So yes it is time to set the bar higher.

 Trump Recognizes Jerusalem as Israeli Capital, Says Final Borders Up to Israel, Palestinians

U.S. would support two-state solution if agreed upon by both sides, Trump says ■ Netanyahu welcomes announcement: There's no peace that doesn't include Jerusalem as Israeli capital

Noa Landau, Amir Tibon and Reuters Dec 06, 2017 9:16 PM

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U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in a landmark speech delivered at the White House on Wednesday.

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Alongside the recognition, the speech included three central points: Trump refrained from explicitly stating that the two-state solution is the only path to a peace agreement, and said the U.S. supports such a solution only if agreed upon by both sides.

 The president also announced that he has instructed the relevant teams to begin planning the relocation of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, yet did not state when such a move will take place.

Finally, Trump stressed that the American recognition of Jerusalem is not tantamount to a position on the issue of Israeli borders and sovereignty in Jerusalem. Those, he said, will be decided upon in negotiations. 

https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/1.827295

 "It is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel," Trump said, adding that the move was "a long overdue step to advance the peace process" between Israel and the Palestinians.

He said recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital is not only a "necessary condition for achieving peace," but also "in the best interests of the United States of America."

"We are not taking a position of any final status issues, including the specific boundaries of the Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem or the resolution of contested borders. Those questions are up to the parties involved," Trump said.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a signed memorandum after he delivered a statement on Jerusalem from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in Washington, DC on December 6, 2017.

Following his speech, Trump signed the presidential waiver to delay moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Shortly after Trump's speech, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the U.S. president's announcement, saying, "The President's decision is an important step towards peace, for there is no peace that doesn't include Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel.

"I share President Trump's commitment to advancing peace between Israel and all of our neighbors, including the Palestinians. And we will continue to work with the President and his team to make that dream of peace come true," Netanyahu said, adding:

"I call on all countries that seek peace to join the United States in recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and to move their embassies here."

Washington's official recognition signals a significant shift in American foreign policy and is expected provoke ire among Palestinians and alienate the Arab and Muslim world.

Shortly before Trump's speech, the U.S. State Department issued a cable to all its diplomatic posts worldwide on Wednesday asking its officials to defer non-essential travel to Israel, Jerusalem and the West Bank until December 20, according to a copy of the cable seen by Reuters.

"Embassy Tel Aviv and Consulate General Jerusalem request that all non-essential visitors defer their travel to Israel, Jerusalem and the West Bank from December 4-December 20, 2017," said the cable, which did not specify a reason for the request.

Both Jordan's King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed concern over the decision when they spoke with Trump on the phone on Tuesday. Abbas warned that Trump's action will have "dangerous consequences" and urged the Pope and the leaders of Russia, France and Jordan to intervene.

Abdullah told Trump that the decision would have repercussions on security and stability within the Middle East.

According to three senior administration officials, in his speech on Wednesday the president will explicitly express support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the first time.

Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel's "historical and national identity is receiving important expressions every day, but especially today." The prime minister was speaking in a Facebook video ahead of Trump's announcement, but avoided any mention of the expected recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

On Tuesday, Palestinian factions in the West Bank announced that they would carry out three days of protests across the West Bank over Trump's expected decision.

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