Trump's recognition contradicts 1967 borders demarcation

CAIRO – 8 December 2017: On Dec. 6, United States President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Trump’s announcement came as a shock as shown by numerous international reactions that condemned and criticized the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

On April 1, a communiqué read by Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit during the 28th Arab League summit discouraged all countries from recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital or moving their embassies there.

“The League stresses its insistence to initiate serious and dynamic peace talks to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” Aboul Gheit said. “Achieving safety and stability requires a settlement based on a two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he added.

The pre-1967 border is a demarcation line set in 1949 according to an agreement between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria; it was signed after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

The pre-1967 border served as the Israeli state’s borders from 1949 until 1967 when a war erupted between Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt, Syria and Jordan, in which the Israel Defense Forces managed to recover the Old City of Jerusalem from Jordanian control, among other territories.

In Feb., U.S. President Donald Trump backed away from a decades-long policy of supporting a two-state solution in the Middle East. During a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump asked Netanyahu to hold back on settlements for a while, adding that he is open to either a two-state or a one-state solution.

“So I am looking at two states and one state. I am very happy with the one that both parties like,” Trump said. “If Israel and the Palestinians are happy, then I am happy with the one they like the best.”

About 10 months later, Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital indicated that he could not care less about Palestinians. The sole recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was made regardless of any considerations to the Arab region that got much infuriated after announcing the decision.

Palestinian Ambassador to the Arab League Diab Al-Louh Wednesday described U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as “insolent” and “impertinent”.

Al-Louh said during a phone interview with Al-Hayah satellite channel that Trump’s decision is as dangerous as the Balfour Declaration. “Today, Trump gave what he does not own to those who do not deserve.”

The Balfour Declaration was issued by the British government during World War I announcing support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.

“Jerusalem is not Trump’s or the Jew’s, it is Palestine’s capital and is part of the lands occupied by Israel in 1967,” Al-Louh said. “Neither Trump, nor Israel, have the right to change Jerusalem’s geographical features according to the International Law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in his

speech

during the Arab League summit, said since 2009 Israel has been working to undermine the two-state solution by accelerating the pace of settlements and the confiscation of land.

For his part, Palestinian Fattah leader and Political analyst Ayman al-Raqab stated Thursday that U.S. is no longer a fair sponsor of the peace process, but an enemy, stressing that the Arab countries should take a swift action against Trump’s resolution.