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Trump Recognizes Jerusalem as Israel Capital, Plans to Move Embassy

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by Aysha Qamar

President Donald Trump has recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and announced plans to relocate the United States embassy there. This move is expected to further tensions in the region and unsettle any prospects for peace.

Every U.S. President since 1995, including Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama, has declined to move the embassy, citing national security interests.

According to National Security Council officials, Trump has signed a waiver officially delaying the move of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for six months.

The status of Jerusalem has been one of the most sensitive and conflicting aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian war. In the past, U.S. foreign policy has avoided declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel in the absence of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. This is because both Palestinians and Israelis claim Jerusalem as their capital. Containing sacred sites to three major religions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity, Jerusalem is of importance to both.

While in theory the embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would be simple, as there is already a U.S. consulate in Jerusalem, the challenge exists in the diplomatic crises that would arise.

The United Nations partition plan in 1947 visualized Jerusalem as a separate “international city,” but the war that followed Israel’s declaration of independence, one year later, left the city divided, (Source: CNN).

East Jerusalem, which includes the Old City, was annexed by Israel after the Six Day War of 1967. A United Nations resolution was thus passed condemning Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem and declaring it a violation of International Law- this caused countries that had embassies in Jerusalem to move.

According to the 1993 Israel-Palestinian peace accords, the final status of Jerusalem is meant to be discussed in the latter stages of peace talks.

The issue of moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem is considered by Palestinians as a provocation and deconstruction of the peace talks. These talks have been on standby since 2014.

Palestinian officials warned the US against the move stating that it would be a step towards destabilizing the whole region and destroying the peace process

“Such a step would destabilize the whole region, destroy the peace process, disqualify the US from its role in the region and generate a new wave of extremism,” Member of Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Executive Committee and head of Information and Culture Department Hanan Ashrawi said.

“I hope that nobody would take such a step. This would be an extremely irresponsible and dangerous.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeinah said that the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is “equal dangerous to the future of the peace process and would take the region into the square of instability”.

According to Rudeinha, any just solution of the Palestinian Israeli conflict should guarantee that East Jerusalem is the capital of the independent state of Palestine. Rudeinha also stated that “failing to reach a solution to the Palestinian cause will prolong tensions, chaos and violence”.

On the other side, the Israeli government has praised Trump’s plan to move the embassy.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move is an “important step towards peace, for there is no peace that doesn’t include Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel.”

Arab leaders are condemning the recognition by Trump including Jordan’s King Abdullah.

“There is no alternative to a two-state solution, and Jerusalem is key to any peace agreement. It is imperative to work fast to reach a final status solution and a peace agreement. Ignoring Palestinian Muslim and Christian rights in the holy city could fuel terrorism,” King Abdullah said.

The announcement has sparked numerous protests. Israel has deployed hundreds of extra troops in the West Bank as Palestinians went on strike and took to the streets this week.

At least 31 Palestinians have been wounded in clashes in the Gaza Strip and across the occupied West Bank, during protests against Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

 Cancer Care for the Children of Gaza

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by Susan Schwartz

The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), the world’s largest charity dealing with the medical needs of Middle East children, has long been the subject of articles in The Muslim Observer.

The PCRF provides many services which include- but are not limited to: medical missions; summer camps for the disabled; hearing aids; customized wheel chairs; a Gaza mental health project and medical services in the fields of pediatric cardiology and pediatric oncology.

Two years ago, we told readers of the then latest project of PCRF – a pediatric oncology unit in Gaza.

Steve Sosebee, the CEO of the PCRF has told The Muslim Observer that the Center is nearly finished. What is holding up the final completion is, not surprisingly, the Israelis and their refusal to grant permission for medical equipment permits so that this essential equipment may enter Gaza from the Israeli side. This of course is impacting the progress of the project.

The Department will be named the Dr. Musa and Suhaila Nasir Pediatric Oncology Department after the two founders, one the former Chairman of the PCRF.

The couple worked tirelessly during the 25 years since the PCRF was founded for the well being of children in the Middle East, particularly in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In the early days of the organization, they housed ill or injured children and without them the PCRF would not be what it is today.

In April of 2013, a Pediatric Oncology Center opened in Beit Jala Hospital in the West Bank. Named The Huda Al Masry Pediatric Cancer Department after the late wife of PCRF CEO, Steve Sosebee, the Department provides comprehensive cancer care for afflicted children. Huda Al Masri was a social worker, the heart of the PCRF, and a fierce warrior for Palestine, particularly the children. Al Masri herself died of cancer, and it was her final wish that the PCRF would direct its work toward the care of children with this dread disease.

Most of the money raised for this project have been from private donors. Those wishing to learn more about the vast expanse of the work of the PCRF or to donate, please access their web site at: www.pcrf.net