In Jerusalem and the American administration

Written by: Dr. Emad Afif Al-Khatib

At the end of the seventies of the last century, most of the successive American administrations persisted in proposing special initiatives to solve the "Arab-Israeli conflict," starting with the "Framework for Peace in the Middle East" initiative within the Camp David Accords (1978), then the Ronald Reagan initiative (1982) that formed the ground For a Jordanian-Palestinian dialogue that culminated in a joint agreement (1985) with a joint initiative for a peaceful settlement. These initiatives did not have references or clear implementation mechanisms that would do justice to the Palestinian people. Until the national uprising broke out at the end of 1987.

And with the beginning of the implementation of the US administration's policy to reshape the political geography of the region, which brought with it woes, the US administration held the "Madrid Conference" in 1991 in the presence of the various parties to the "conflict." With the acceleration of events, the Declaration of Principles (Oslo) was signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Israeli government, and it became clear later that the adopted reference is the “Framework for Peace in the Middle East” initiative, that is, a transitional self-rule for the Palestinians.

The Bill Clinton administration’s “prize” for the Israeli government in the 1992 elections was the promise that the administration would “support Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel.” Later, in 1995, Congress passed the “ Jerusalem Embassy Act,” which stated that “ Jerusalem must be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel,” and that "The American embassy should move to Jerusalem within five years."

Since that date, successive US administrations dealt with the decision by signing a six-month postponement of its implementation, until Donald Trump declared that " Jerusalem is the capital of Israel" in November 2017. Although US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson later indicated that the president's statement "did not refer to Any final status of Jerusalem, including borders, and that this will be left to the two parties to negotiate and decide on.” However, the “decision” represented a “slap” to all international obligations and treaties regarding determining the final status of the city of Jerusalem .

For us, it represented a similar "promise" to the infamous "Balfour Declaration" made nearly 100 years before the "Trump Declaration." As for those who received the "insult", it was the United Nations system, which failed on December 7, 2017 to condemn Trump's decision due to the US veto. Israel."

And with the current US administration headed by Joe Biden, we must make sure, and “admonish,” that it will not be able to change in our favor, even if it wanted to. And because we have to “admonish,” what is required is to work not to “exaggerate the rosary” and lose the diplomatic action on the issue of Jerusalem , as its precursors began from countries that are motivated by their interests and do not care about “legitimate rights,” especially when they see that a regime that represents the United Nations is unable to implement a decision One that could be in our favour, as the Palestinian president always points out.

In December 2016, the Security Council adopted Resolution No. 2334, which considered, in clear language, that “Israeli settlements are illegal, including those in East Jerusalem ,” and added that the illegality of settlements “applies to all settlements established since 1967. "

The Security Council resolution was based on its relevant resolutions: 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 446 (1979), 452 (1979), 465 (1980), 476 (1980), 478 (1980), 1397 (2002), 1515 (2003), and 1850 (2008), guided by the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, on the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force. What is required is to work in parallel with other efforts, to re-consider an intense international effort for our just cause after drawing lessons from what happened and is happening.