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| Benjamin Netanyahu visits Europe after US recognition of Jerusalem | Benjamin Netanyahu visits Europe after US recognition of Jerusalem |
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| The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has arrived in Europe on his first foreign trip since US recognition of Jerusalem as the the country’s capital triggered a wave of condemnation and protest. | The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has arrived in Europe on his first foreign trip since US recognition of Jerusalem as the the country’s capital triggered a wave of condemnation and protest. |
| The visit comes as tensions remain high between Israelis and Palestinians over the issue, both in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories and more widely in the region. | |
| In Jerusalem police reported that a 25-year old security guard was seriously injured in stabbing attack on Jaffa Street outside at the city’s central bus station. According to Israeli media the attacker was a 24 year old Palestinian man. | |
| In what was claimed to be video footage of the attack, the attacker is seen standing and calmly removing his jacket before suddenly lurching at the victim standing next to him and stabbing him once in the chest before fleeing.In Beirut, meanwhile, Lebanese security forces broke up a protest outside the heavily guarded US Embassy with tear gas after demonstrators pelted them with stones. | |
| Protesters, some of them waving Palestinian flags, lit fires in the street and threw objects at members of the security forces who had barricaded the main road to the embassy. | Protesters, some of them waving Palestinian flags, lit fires in the street and threw objects at members of the security forces who had barricaded the main road to the embassy. |
| Addressing the protesters, the head of the Lebanese Communist party, Hanna Gharib, declared Washington “the enemy of Palestine” the embassy “a symbol of imperialist aggression” that must be closed. | Addressing the protesters, the head of the Lebanese Communist party, Hanna Gharib, declared Washington “the enemy of Palestine” the embassy “a symbol of imperialist aggression” that must be closed. |
| Of all the issues at the heart of the enduring conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, none is as sensitive as the status of Jerusalem. The holy city has been at the centre of peace-making efforts for decades. | Of all the issues at the heart of the enduring conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, none is as sensitive as the status of Jerusalem. The holy city has been at the centre of peace-making efforts for decades. |
| Seventy years ago, when the UN voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, Jerusalem was defined as a separate entity under international supervision. In the war of 1948 it was divided, like Berlin in the cold war, into western and eastern sectors under Israeli and Jordanian control respectively. Nineteen years later, in June 1967, Israel captured the eastern side, expanded the city’s boundaries and annexed it – an act that was never recognised internationally. | Seventy years ago, when the UN voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, Jerusalem was defined as a separate entity under international supervision. In the war of 1948 it was divided, like Berlin in the cold war, into western and eastern sectors under Israeli and Jordanian control respectively. Nineteen years later, in June 1967, Israel captured the eastern side, expanded the city’s boundaries and annexed it – an act that was never recognised internationally. |
| Israel routinely describes the city, with its Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy places, as its “united and eternal” capital. For their part, the Palestinians say East Jerusalem must be the capital of a future independent Palestinian state. The unequivocal international view, accepted by all previous US administrations, is that the city’s status must be addressed in peace negotiations. | Israel routinely describes the city, with its Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy places, as its “united and eternal” capital. For their part, the Palestinians say East Jerusalem must be the capital of a future independent Palestinian state. The unequivocal international view, accepted by all previous US administrations, is that the city’s status must be addressed in peace negotiations. |
| Recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital puts the US out of step with the rest of the world, and legitimises Israeli settlement-building in the east – considered illegal under international law. | Recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital puts the US out of step with the rest of the world, and legitimises Israeli settlement-building in the east – considered illegal under international law. |
| The US president’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital has infuriated the Arab world and upset western allies, who say it is a blow to peace efforts and risks causing further unrest in the Middle East. | The US president’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital has infuriated the Arab world and upset western allies, who say it is a blow to peace efforts and risks causing further unrest in the Middle East. |
| The Vatican on Sunday said Pope Francis was praying so that “leaders of nations” commit themselves to work to “avert a new spiral of violence” over Jerusalem. Its statement reiterated the Vatican position on “the essential need for respecting the status quo.” | |
| Most countries consider East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed after capturing it in 1967, to be occupied territory. They say the status of the city should be left to be decided at future Israeli-Palestinian talks. Israel says that all of Jerusalem is its capital, but Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state. | Most countries consider East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed after capturing it in 1967, to be occupied territory. They say the status of the city should be left to be decided at future Israeli-Palestinian talks. Israel says that all of Jerusalem is its capital, but Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state. |
| Netanyahu is to meet the French president, Emanuel Macron, in Paris on Sunday before holding meetings with EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday that he said were the first such talks with an Israeli prime minister in more than two decades. | Netanyahu is to meet the French president, Emanuel Macron, in Paris on Sunday before holding meetings with EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday that he said were the first such talks with an Israeli prime minister in more than two decades. |
| Netanyahu was critical of EU leaders, who have also condemned the building of Israeli settlements in West Bank, as he left Israel late on Saturday. | Netanyahu was critical of EU leaders, who have also condemned the building of Israeli settlements in West Bank, as he left Israel late on Saturday. |
| “While I respect Europe, I am not prepared to accept a double standard from it,” said Netanyahu, who has also faced heavy criticism from European leaders over Israeli settlement building. | “While I respect Europe, I am not prepared to accept a double standard from it,” said Netanyahu, who has also faced heavy criticism from European leaders over Israeli settlement building. |
| “I hear voices from there condemning President Trump’s historic statement, but I have not heard condemnations of the rockets fired at Israel or the terrible incitement against it. | “I hear voices from there condemning President Trump’s historic statement, but I have not heard condemnations of the rockets fired at Israel or the terrible incitement against it. |
| “I am not prepared to accept this hypocrisy,” he said. | “I am not prepared to accept this hypocrisy,” he said. |
| Several rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel on Thursday and Friday following Trump’s declaration, leading Israel to respond with airstrikes that killed two people. | Several rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel on Thursday and Friday following Trump’s declaration, leading Israel to respond with airstrikes that killed two people. |
| In recent years France has emerged as a key interlocutor for Palestinians in international forums as the Palestinian leadership has sought to internationalise a peace process for long dominated by US mediation. | |
| Earlier this year over 70 countries and international organisations attended a French-convened conference in Paris aimed at breathing new life into the Middle East peace process. | |
| While Macron has said France is a friend and ally of Israel, he has in the past also been very sharply critical of the Netanyahu government. | |
| Ahead of Netanyahu’s visit, Macron and Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, spoke by telephone about a joint diplomatic approach to try and persuade the US to row back on Jerusalem. | |
| Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo late on Saturday urged the US to reverse its decision and said the move would spark violence throughout the region. | Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo late on Saturday urged the US to reverse its decision and said the move would spark violence throughout the region. |
| Lebanon, which hosts about 450,000 Palestinian refugees, has condemned Trump’s decision. The country’s president, Michel Aoun, last week called the move a threat to regional stability. | Lebanon, which hosts about 450,000 Palestinian refugees, has condemned Trump’s decision. The country’s president, Michel Aoun, last week called the move a threat to regional stability. |
| Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, the powerful Iranian-backed Lebanese Shia group, has called for a protest against the decision in the southern suburbs of Beirut the group controls on Monday. | Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, the powerful Iranian-backed Lebanese Shia group, has called for a protest against the decision in the southern suburbs of Beirut the group controls on Monday. |
| About 5,000 Indonesian Muslims also protested in Jakarta on Sunday against Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. They gathered outside the US embassy in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country to vent their anger. | About 5,000 Indonesian Muslims also protested in Jakarta on Sunday against Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. They gathered outside the US embassy in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country to vent their anger. |
| The Islamist Prosperous Justice party (PKS), which organised the Jakarta rally and others around the country, said Trump’s decision was a declaration of “hostility to Muslims throughout the world”. | The Islamist Prosperous Justice party (PKS), which organised the Jakarta rally and others around the country, said Trump’s decision was a declaration of “hostility to Muslims throughout the world”. |
| Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report | Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report |