After months of rumors that American President Donald Trump – who arrived in Israel on Monday from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of his first overseas trip since taking office in January – is reconsidering his controversial promise to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, largely out of fear that the move will trigger violent reactions. But some Palestinians don’t think the relocation issue matters that much.
A number of Palestinians told The Media Line that many who favor the formation of their state along the 1949 armistice line with east Jerusalem as its capital don’t object to moving the U.S. Embassy to the western half of the city. Yousef Abuhashem, an academic at Al Quds Open University told The Media Line that, “We are fighting for freedom, not bread,” meaning that a political solution comes first and then an economic one follows.
It is widely held that with a two-states-for-two-peoples solution, both countries would have their capitals in Jerusalem. Similarly, many countries would have twin embassies located on opposite sides of bifurcated Jerusalem. Palestinians have already accepted the concept of a state on 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital, so moving the embassy to the west won’t change what they are fighting for.
President Trump, after inking a $110-billion arms deal with the Saudis and proving his ability to construct major economic agreements, told the daily Israel Hayom that he doesn’t think Israeli settlement building in the West Bank is “good for peace.”
Or good for business.
Yet, many Palestinians disagree with those who accept Trump’s campaign promise to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem within the framework of a comprehensive political agreement. Noting that the Trump administration is “at the very beginning stages” of looking into the embassy relocation issue, they recognize the emotionally-charged question could torpedo any Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations. Failure to achieve a peace breakthrough because of the embassy issue could cause Trump to lose interest in achieving “the ultimate deal,” they worry.
The Palestinian Authority rejects the “promise” Trump has made, and considers that if implemented, it would cross a red line and make peace impossible. “If they move the embassy to Jerusalem, we can’t ensure any security stability in the area,” a Palestinian official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Media Line. “We need a comprehensive political solution that ensures removing the economic restrictions, especially on the shores of the Dead Sea and the regional tourism.”
Former Palestinian Authority Information Minister Nabil Amro favors showing flexibility in negotiations. “We need to try to create a balance in the American position toward the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The U.S. is a very important country,” he said.
When asked about moving the embassy to Jerusalem, Amro cautioned the Trump administration to freeze the issue. “The American president spoke about it throughout his election campaign. But when it came to translating the promise into action, Trump realized how provocative it is to the Palestinians and put it on hold,” Amro noted.
After so many decades of start-and-stop negotiations, many Palestinians today are wary of American involvement in the long-stalled peace process.
“The Palestinian general opinion is influenced by two aspects; the dominance of the U.S.-Israeli strategic relationship, and America’s failed attempts to provide a solution to the Palestinians.”
To many Palestinians who spoke to The Media Line, moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, together with other states’ relocating their diplomatic missions to the city, would rank after Britain’s 1917 Balfour Declaration as recognition by the international community of Israel’s right to exist with the city as Israel’s capital. Yet some Palestinians think that while American policy is biased in favor of Israel, moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem would paradoxically strengthen their own claim to the eastern half of the city as the capital of Palestine.
In Amro’s words, “sometimes you have to give something in order to get something back.”
According to American law, the U.S. Embassy will be automatically moved to Jerusalem unless President Trump signs a presidential waiver every six months that suspends implementation of the 1995 law that mandates the embassy’s move. President Trump is expected to be the fourth consecutive president to sign the waiver twice each year.