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World Leaders Assail Trump’s Jerusalem Announcement U.N., European Union and Pope Criticize Trump’s Jerusalem Announcement
(about 2 hours later)
ROME — A chorus of international leaders criticized the Trump administration on Wednesday for officially recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, describing the declaration as a dangerous disruption that would inflame one of the world’s most intractable conflicts. ROME — Pope Francis said, “I cannot remain silent.” The United Nations secretary general spoke of his “great anxiety.” The European Union expressed “serious concern.” American allies like Britain, France, Germany and Italy all declared it a mistake.
Secretary General António Guterres and Pope Francis both expressed alarm that President Trump’s announcement would provoke new tensions in the Holy City, which is revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims. A chorus of international leaders criticized the Trump administration’s decision on Wednesday to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as a dangerous disruption that contravenes several United Nations resolutions and could inflame one of the world’s thorniest conflicts.
Secretary General António Guterres and Pope Francis both expressed alarm that the announcement would provoke new tensions in the Holy City, which is revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims.
Within minutes of Mr. Trump’s speech, in which he said the American Embassy would be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Mr. Guterres delivered what amounted to a diplomatic rebuke.Within minutes of Mr. Trump’s speech, in which he said the American Embassy would be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Mr. Guterres delivered what amounted to a diplomatic rebuke.
Reading a statement outside the Security Council chambers at United Nations headquarters in New York, Mr. Guterres criticized “any unilateral measures that would jeopardize the prospect of peace for Israelis and Palestinians.” The message was clearly directed at the Trump administration’s departure from decades of American policy. Reading a statement outside the Security Council chambers at United Nations headquarters in New York, Mr. Guterres criticized “any unilateral measures that would jeopardize the prospect of peace for Israelis and Palestinians,” underscoring the administration’s departure from decades of American policy.
“Jerusalem is a final-status issue that must be resolved through direct negotiations between the two parties on the basis of the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, taking into account the legitimate concerns of both the Palestinian and the Israeli sides,” Mr. Guterres said.“Jerusalem is a final-status issue that must be resolved through direct negotiations between the two parties on the basis of the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, taking into account the legitimate concerns of both the Palestinian and the Israeli sides,” Mr. Guterres said.
“In this moment of great anxiety, I want to make it clear: there is no alternative to the two-state solution,” he said. “There is no Plan B.”“In this moment of great anxiety, I want to make it clear: there is no alternative to the two-state solution,” he said. “There is no Plan B.”
In Rome, Pope Francis prayed that Jerusalem’s status be preserved and needless conflict avoided.In Rome, Pope Francis prayed that Jerusalem’s status be preserved and needless conflict avoided.
“I cannot remain silent about my deep concern for the situation that has developed in recent days,” Francis said at his weekly general audience at the Vatican. “And at the same time, I wish to make a heartfelt appeal to ensure that everyone is committed to respecting the status quo of the city, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations.”“I cannot remain silent about my deep concern for the situation that has developed in recent days,” Francis said at his weekly general audience at the Vatican. “And at the same time, I wish to make a heartfelt appeal to ensure that everyone is committed to respecting the status quo of the city, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations.”
“Jerusalem is a unique city,” he said, “sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, where the Holy Places for the respective religions are venerated, and it has a special vocation to peace.”“Jerusalem is a unique city,” he said, “sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, where the Holy Places for the respective religions are venerated, and it has a special vocation to peace.”
In especially strong language, the pope added, “I pray to the Lord that such identity be preserved and strengthened for the benefit of the Holy Land, the Middle East and the entire world, and that wisdom and prudence prevail, to avoid adding new elements of tension in a world already shaken and scarred by many cruel conflicts.”In especially strong language, the pope added, “I pray to the Lord that such identity be preserved and strengthened for the benefit of the Holy Land, the Middle East and the entire world, and that wisdom and prudence prevail, to avoid adding new elements of tension in a world already shaken and scarred by many cruel conflicts.”
The pope’s remarks seemed to be a clear warning, and an appeal, to President Trump, whose recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital broke with American foreign policy that has been in place since 1948, when Israel was founded. Mr. Trump also set in motion a plan to move the United States Embassy. The European Union’s top diplomat, Federica Mogherini, expressed concern about “the repercussions this may have on the prospect of peace.”
Critics said the announcements would be the death knell for an already moribund peace process and would pull the plug on a two-state solution. The change in policy, they say, removes any pretense that the United States is a neutral broker for peace, and Palestinians and other Arabs in the region will view the Trump administration as an extension of Israel’s right-wing government. In a statement, she reiterated the E.U.’s position that Jerusalem should be a future capital of two states, Israeli and Palestinian, and that embassies should not be moved there until the city’s final status was resolved. She cited a 1980 United Nations Security Council resolution that condemned Israel’s attempted annexation of East Jerusalem as a violation of international law.
The change in American policy “destroys the peace process,” said the Palestinian prime minister, Rami Hamdallah. She called on actors in the region “to show calm and restraint in order to prevent any escalation.”
The warnings by the pope, the United Nations and the European Union spoke to a broad fear that Mr. Trump’s announcement would be the death knell for an already moribund peace process and would pull the plug on a two-state solution.
Critics of the announcement said the change in policy removed any pretense that the United States is a neutral broker for peace. Palestinians and other Arabs in the region already view the Trump administration as leaning toward Israel’s right-wing government. The change in American policy “destroys the peace process,” said the Palestinian prime minister, Rami Hamdallah.
Some of the most longstanding allies of the United States expressed apprehension.Some of the most longstanding allies of the United States expressed apprehension.
“Clearly this is a decision that makes it more important than ever that the long-awaited American proposals on the Middle East peace process are now brought forward,” Britain’s foreign minister, Boris Johnson, told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday. The French president Emmanuel Macron, who was in Algeria on Wednesday meeting with the country’s president and other figures, said in a news conference that the decision by Mr. Trump was “regrettable.” He added that “France and Europe are committed to a two-state solution,” and called on all parties to refrain from violence.
Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, said through a spokesman that her government “does not support this position, because the status of Jerusalem is to be resolved in the framework of a two-state solution.”
Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni of Italy wrote on Twitter: “Jerusalem holy city, unique on earth. Its future will be defined within the framework of the peace process based on the two states, Israel and Palestine.”
Britain’s foreign minister, Boris Johnson, told reporters in Brussels, “Clearly this is a decision that makes it more important than ever that the long-awaited American proposals on the Middle East peace process are now brought forward.”
That process, led by Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has seemingly failed to get off the ground.That process, led by Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has seemingly failed to get off the ground.
Leaders in the region had already warned against the move. A statement from the royal palace of King Abdullah II of Jordan, whose kingdom is the custodian of Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, emphasized that the city was key to “achieving peace and stability in the region and the world.” Leaders in the region had already warned against the move. A statement from the royal palace of King Abdullah II of Jordan, whose kingdom is the custodian of Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, emphasized that the city was critical to “achieving peace and stability in the region and the world.”
In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was convening a summit meeting of the main Pan-Islamic body next week in Istanbul to discuss the American moves and to show, as his spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told reporters in Ankara, "joint action among Islamic countries.” In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was convening a summit meeting of the main Pan-Islamic body next week in Istanbul to discuss the American move and to show, as his spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told reporters in Ankara, “joint action among Islamic countries.”
Mr. Kalin called the expected change a “grave mistake,” adding that “Jerusalem is our honor, Jerusalem is our common cause, Jerusalem is our red line.”Mr. Kalin called the expected change a “grave mistake,” adding that “Jerusalem is our honor, Jerusalem is our common cause, Jerusalem is our red line.”
Iran, unsurprisingly, condemned the change, with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying at a conference in Tehran on Wednesday that it reflected the “incompetence and failure” of the American government.Iran, unsurprisingly, condemned the change, with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying at a conference in Tehran on Wednesday that it reflected the “incompetence and failure” of the American government.
Even Israel was bracing for a reaction to Mr. Trump’s expected declaration, though Mr. Trump had long telegraphed his intentions. Like much of Europe, the Vatican has long been sympathetic to the plight of Palestinians. Alessandro Di Battista, a leader of Italy’s Five Star Movement, called the idea of moving the embassy “a stupid provocation.”
During the presidential campaign, Mr. Trump promised evangelical members of his base and Orthodox Jewish supporters who, unlike many other Jews, tend to vote Republican, that “we will move the American Embassy to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem.”
The Vatican, like Italy, has long been sympathetic to the plight of Palestinians. (Alessandro Di Battista, a leader of Italy’s Five Star Movement, called the idea of moving the embassy “a stupid provocation.”)
The Vatican established full diplomatic relations with Israel in 1994, and Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI both visited Israel and the Palestinian territories.The Vatican established full diplomatic relations with Israel in 1994, and Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI both visited Israel and the Palestinian territories.
In 2012, the Vatican called for “an internationally guaranteed special statute” for Jerusalem, with the goal of “safeguarding the freedom of religion and of conscience, the identity and sacred character of Jerusalem as a Holy City, (and) respect for, and freedom of, access to its holy places.”In 2012, the Vatican called for “an internationally guaranteed special statute” for Jerusalem, with the goal of “safeguarding the freedom of religion and of conscience, the identity and sacred character of Jerusalem as a Holy City, (and) respect for, and freedom of, access to its holy places.”
Francis visited the Holy Land in 2014, but he upset some Israelis by flying via helicopter directly from Jordan to the “State of Palestine,” as the Vatican schedule at the time referred to the territories. He visited Israel afterward. Francis visited the Holy Land in 2014, but he upset some Israelis by flying by helicopter directly from Jordan to the “State of Palestine,” as the Vatican schedule at the time referred to the territories. He visited Israel afterward.
In 2015, the Vatican entered into a treaty with the “State of Palestine.”In 2015, the Vatican entered into a treaty with the “State of Palestine.”
While the notion that conflict in Jerusalem is linked to unrest and instability throughout the region has long been disputed by Middle East analysts, the pope, along with others around the globe, seemed to consider Mr. Trump’s expected change of policy a purely political and needless aggravation. On Tuesday, Francis spoke by telephone to the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, about the unfolding crisis. Before the pope’s public remarks to the faithful at the Vatican on Wednesday, he met privately with a group of Palestinians participating in interfaith dialogue with officials at the Vatican.
The speech is just as likely to cause consternation among Jewish voters in the United States, who are increasingly polarized.
Jews traditionally vote in overwhelming numbers for Democrats, but the hard-right policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel have anguished liberal Zionists in the United States, who often have found themselves torn between their liberalism and Zionism.
Mr. Trump’s declaration is likely to add to the radicalization of a small, but increasing number of American Jews who, already disgusted by the Netanyahu government, have promoted boycotts and sanctions against Israel, which they publicly call a racist or apartheid state.
The hostility of the growing left-wing fringe of American Jews is seeping into the Democratic Party, where, in 2012, delegates to the Democratic National Convention booed when officials sought to reinstate a recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel into the party platform.
But the change from a party platform to definitive American foreign policy is a major one that has seized the world’s attention.
On Tuesday, Francis spoke by telephone to the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, about the unfolding crisis. And before the pope’s public remarks to the faithful at the Vatican on Wednesday, he met privately with a group of Palestinians participating in interfaith dialogue with officials at the Vatican.
“The Holy Land is for us Christians the land par excellence of dialogue between God and mankind,” he said. “The primary condition of that dialogue is reciprocal respect and a commitment to strengthening that respect, for the sake of recognizing the rights of all people, wherever they happen to be.”“The Holy Land is for us Christians the land par excellence of dialogue between God and mankind,” he said. “The primary condition of that dialogue is reciprocal respect and a commitment to strengthening that respect, for the sake of recognizing the rights of all people, wherever they happen to be.”