Page 47 - The Economist

Middle East and Africa The Economist December 9th 2017 47

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48 Arabic signs in Israel
48 Africa’s ageing leaders
49 Marxist nostalgia in Ethiopia
49 International relations in the Gulf
50 The killing of Yemen’s ex-president

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Jerusalem citizens and cannot vote in national elec-
Capital gains tions. Theirstatus remains to be resolved.
Mr Trump has based much of his Mid-
dle Eastpolicyon buildinga closeralliance
with Saudi Arabia. The Saudis, along with
America’s other Arab allies, publicly op-
posed the recognition ofJerusalem. But itis
JERUSALEM unlikely that Mr Trump would have gone
Donald Trump’s recognition ofJerusalem as Israel’s capital maynotcause ahead if they had not privately assured
immediate chaos. Butitmakes a peace deal less likely
him that they had bigger things to worry
VEN before Donald Trump issued his 1967, Jerusalem was split between Israel about. The Sunni Arab states are less con-
Eproclamation recognising Jerusalem as and Jordan, and since that year’s six-day cerned about Palestine than about Iran’s
the capital of Israel, stiff opposition was war, ithasbeen solelyunderIsraeli control. growing influence, and finding ways to
brewing. Pope Francis and the Supreme But even Israel’s closest allies have contin- contain it (see page 49). Israel, behind the
LeaderofIran denounced hisplan to move ued maintaining their embassies 40 miles scenes, has become a tacit ally of the Sau-
America’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jeru- (65km) to the west in Tel Aviv. dis in the Sunni-Shia conflict.
salem. So did the UN Secretary-General, Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the
the prime minister of Italy and a global Palestine Liberation Organisation, and pre- Holycity, unholymess
chorus of diplomats. If anything, opposi- viously the Palestinians’ chief negotiator This leaves the Palestinians isolated, a sen-
tion from such grandees emboldened Mr with Israel, said that Mr Trump had “dis- timent palpable on the streets of East Jeru-
Trump. On December 6th he jettisoned qualified his country from any possible salem this week. They feel abandoned not
most of the conventional wisdom about role in the peace process”. But Mr Trump only by America but by the Arab world
the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. insisted that he still intends to honour his and even by their own leaders. Jawad
Without preconditions, Mr Trump re- earlier promise to achieve the “ultimate Siam, a local leader in Silwan, an Arab dis-
cognised Jerusalem as the historic capital deal”—peace between Israel and the Pales- trict of Jerusalem, has harsh words for
of the Jewish people, “established in an- tinians. He stressed: “we are not taking a Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian presi-
cienttimes”, and theseatofIsrael’sgovern- position on any final status issues, includ- dent. “Abbas is always saying there is still a
ment. In the first taste of a peace plan he is ing the specific boundaries of the Israeli chance for diplomacy, and now Trump is
expected to unveil next year, he failed to sovereignty in Jerusalem, or the resolution making Abbas very small in front of his
mention Jewish settlements in the West of contested borders.” But it will be hard people.” Eversince his election in 2005, Mr
Bank or the Palestinians’ claims to Jerusa- from this point to get the Palestinians to re- Abbas has rejected violence and called
lem. It was, as he said, “very fresh think- turn to the negotiations that they aban- upon his people to pursue statehood
ing”. The proclamation delighted Israel’s doned three years ago. through diplomacy. Now the calls from
prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, The move of the embassy could in the- within the Palestinian national movement
who hailed it as “a historic day” for which orybe stalled bya future president, though for a return to intifada, ie, a violent upris-
Israel is “profoundly grateful”. that is unlikely. Meanwhile, protests are ing, are growing.
Since David Ben Gurion moved hisgov- erupting. The Palestinians still insist that However, many Palestinians remain
ernment to Jerusalem in 1949, Israel has part of Jerusalem should serve as the capi- weary of conflict with the Israelis. “Why
been the only country with a capital that is tal of a future Palestinian state, as a condi- should we start another intifada and lose
not formally recognised by the rest of the tion of any peace deal. Some 300,000 Pal- our sons?” asked Fowzi Iyad, a trader from
world. The cityisstill considered by the UN estinians live in Jerusalem—nearly a third Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter. “Just because
a corpus separatum—a separate entity un- of the city’s population. They carry Israeli Trump said he’s going to build an embas-
der international jurisdiction. On the identity cards and can travel and work sy? Let’ssee Trump buildingsomething. All
ground this has never been the case. Until throughout Israel. But they are not Israeli he does is talk.” 7