United States President-elect Donald Trump’s administration has to reassess its policies towards Israel before it is too late, said Palestine’s Al Quds. “If Trump moves forward with the plan to move the US Embassy to [occupied] Jerusalem, recognising it as the capital of Israel, then that would cause, as US Secretary of State John Kerry put it during an interview with CBS News, ‘An explosive situation’. Such an act would lead to the US finding itself isolated, just like Israel is now, because the entire international community condemns Israel’s policies in the Occupied Territories. It is true that the international community has not yet taken any practical steps against Israel, but Israel’s constant violation of international law will eventually force it to do so. That is why Trump should refrain from making any rash decisions, because the ‘explosion’ forecast by Kerry will surely go beyond Israel.”
Jordan has already warned that any move by Trump to recognise occupied Jerusalem as Israel’s capital or transfer the US embassy to occupied Jerusalem would have “catastrophic” repercussions, said the Jordan Times.
“Unfortunately, Trump has been constantly showing disregard for international norms, and more, and a mere warning — however legitimate — cannot be expected to have much of an impact on him. If Trump believes that the Arab and Muslim reaction is only rhetoric, he will have no incentive to change his provocative stance on Israel and the future of [occupied] Jerusalem. Much more needs to be done, not only by Jordan, but by the entire Arab and Muslim world, to convince Trump that such an ill-advised change of policy by his country would undermine not only the long-standing cooperation between the US and the Arab and Muslim worlds, but also any sincere effort to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict now in its 50th year.”
The Israeli government has to realise that their retaliatory actions following the [occupied] Jerusalem attacks will not bring about security or peace, said Qatar’s Al Raya. “Acts such as demolishing the home of the one who perpetrated the attack and not handing over his body to his family will not resolve anything. The political issue that Israel is shunning is its occupation, seizure and colonisation of Palestinian lands. Israel has to realise that its stability and the security of its residents, who are foreign invaders on Palestinian lands, depends on the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state with [occupied] Jerusalem as its capital. Israel has exploited the policy of escaping punishments and international accountability as it punishes Palestinians on a daily basis in a provocative and calculated manner. It is time for it to fulfil its commitments and abandon its policies of repression and occupation.”
The United Nations resolution condemning Israel’s colonisation policies is lacking demands made by previous resolutions to remove colonies built by Israel and which are in violation of international law, said the UAE’s Al Khaleej. “The resolution, however, is also not any different than [the] ones issued in the past. There is no mention of warnings or a list of punishments that may be enforced if the colonies are not removed. The resolution was issued amongst widespread fanfare only because it passed without a US veto, but its moral impact will eventually wane into nothingness if the Palestinians choose to not build on it,” the paper said.
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