Jerusalem | IMEU

The city of Jerusalem, holy to Christians, Muslims, and Jews, is a flashpoint of the Israel-Palestine conflict and its future is one of the most contentious issues to be resolved under any peace agreement. Although the eastern half (including the Old City) has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967, Palestinians regard Jerusalem—Al-Quds in Arabic—as their capital. Despite the fact that most Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza are banned by Israeli military order from accessing the city, Jerusalem remains a powerful focal point and symbol of Palestinian culture.

Hanan Ashrawi, New York Times

Trump Is Making a Huge Mistake on Jerusalem

President Trump announced on Wednesday that his administration is making a radical break with nearly 70 years of official United States policy and with the international community: He is recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. This decision will be interpreted by Palestinians, Arabs and the rest of the world as a major provocation.

on December 7, 2017

Saree Makdisi, Los Angeles Times

Trump Delivers a Death Blow to the Two-State Solution

President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel represents a major break with decades of U.S. foreign policy. It is a final, devastating blow to the prospect of a two-state solution for Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians. The move involves, first, a contemptuous dismissal of Palestinians’ aspirations and rights, a denial of their claim to the city they consider their capital, where almost 400,000 of them live.

on December 7, 2017

Rashid Khalidi, The Guardian

Trump’s Error on Jerusalem Is a Disaster for the Arab World … and the US Too

Every time it seems Donald Trump cannot outdo himself, he does it again. Now he has announced that his administration will recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, reversing nearly seven decades of American policy. This step will have multiple negative ramifications, many impossible to predict.

on December 6, 2017

Ishaan Tharoor, The Washington Post

Trump’s Jerusalem Moves Spark a Fire in the Middle East

There is a small constituency in the United States that genuinely cares about the location of the American Embassy in Israel. Evangelicals and a right-wing, pro-Israel lobby were thrilled by President Trump's campaign promises to reverse decades of U.S. policy by recognizing a “united” Jerusalem as Israel's capital and shifting the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv. At a speech on Wednesday, Trump is expected to outline his plans to do just that.

on December 6, 2017

Murtaza Hussain, The Intercept

With His Jerusalem Move, Trump Flings Gas Can over a Region Aflame

In a move that would break from decades of U.S. policy and potentially trigger major regional turmoil, President Donald Trump is reportedly set to announce that the United States will recognize the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The White House announced that Trump will deliver his remarks on the subject Wednesday, with the New York Times reporting that the president has already informed Israeli and Arab leaders about his plans.

on December 5, 2017

Issa Amro, Forward

Trump Is Waging War On The Peace Process

In the days after his election, President Donald Trump bragged that he would achieve “the ultimate deal” for Israelis and Palestinians. But on the ground, his Administration has been supporting an ultimate war on the peace process. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who has been charged with overseeing Middle East peace, has been unforthcoming with details.

on December 4, 2017

Omar Barghouti, Nesweek

Balfour Sparked a National Tragedy for the Palestinian People—with BDS, We Are Fighting Back

When Zionist militias forced my grandmother, Rasmiyyah, and her family out of their home in Safad at gunpoint during the 1948 Nakba, the process of settler-colonialism that was propelled by the Balfour Declaration and that culminated in ethnic cleansing became more than just a national tragedy for the indigenous people of Palestine. It became personal.

on November 2, 2017

David M. Halbfinger, New York Times

Balfour Declaration of Support for Jewish Homeland Still Divisive at 100

It was the moment of conception of what would become the State of Israel — or it was the original sin in which Israel was conceived. The Balfour Declaration, the pivotal, 67-word assurance by the British foreign secretary that promised support for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people,” turned 100 on Thursday, meeting with tributes in Jerusalem and London, and tear gas in Bethlehem.

on November 2, 2017

Peter Beaumont, The Guardian

Netanyahu Backs Annexation of 19 West Bank Settlements

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has backed legislation that would in effect annex settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories that are home to between 125,000 and 150,000 Jewish people. In comments made at a meeting of his Likud party at the large settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, Netanyahu said he would support the “Greater Jerusalem” bill.

on October 3, 2017