WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s decision on recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital (all times local):
1:20 p.m.
President Donald Trump has announced that the United States now recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It’s a move that upends decades of U.S. policy. Watch the announcement here.
He says in a White House speech that he’s “determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Trump says he’s deemed this change to be in America’s interests.
The president says the decision “marks the beginning of a new approach to conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.”
World leaders have warned that the move could inflame tensions in the volatile Mideast.
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1:10 p.m.
The Jerusalem municipality has illuminated the walls of the Old City red, white and blue to show thanks to President Trump’s recognition of it as Israel’s capital.
Mayor Nir Barkat says the main entrance to the city will also be lit in America’s colors and American flags will be flown across major streets of the city on Thursday.
Barkat says Trump’s announcement “sends a clear message to the entire world” that the United States stands with Israel and the Jewish people.
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1:05 p.m.
The White House has released early excerpts of President Donald Trump’s speech on plans to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, and he’s saying the U.S. remains “deeply committed” to achieving Mideast peace.
Trump is saying he intends “to do everything” in his power to help forge a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.
As part of his announcement, he plans to instruct the State Department to begin the long process of moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
And Trump’s acknowledging opposition to his plans.
He says: “There will of course be disagreement and dissent regarding this announcement. But we are confident that ultimately, as we work through these disagreements, we will arrive at a place of greater understanding and cooperation.”
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12:10 p.m.
President Donald Trump is previewing his announcement on Israel — saying at the White House that “it’s long overdue.”
The president isn’t offering details of the decision during a Cabinet meeting. But he’s expected to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and instruct the State Department to begin the long process of moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Trump says “many presidents have said they want to do something and they didn’t do it.” He says he’ll be making the announcement later in the day.
Mideast leaders say Trump’s expected decision could lead to violent protests and complicate Mideast peace efforts.
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11:10 a.m.
Bolivia’s U.N. ambassador says he’ll seek a U.N. Security Council meeting as soon as possible if President Donald Trump declares Jerusalem the capital of Israel.
Bolivia is serving a two-year term on the U.N.’s most powerful panel.
Ambassador Sacha Llorentty Soliz, tells reporters that declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s capital “will be a reckless and a dangerous decision that goes against international law, the resolutions of the Security Council, and also weakens any effort for peace in the region.”
Soliz says such a decision would threaten prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, as well as jeopardize international peace and security.
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10:05 a.m.
Leaders of major Christian denominations in the Holy Land have appealed to President Donald Trump to rethink his expected decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
They say in a letter that Trump’s steps will mean “increased hatred, conflict, violence and suffering in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.”
Their letter asks Trump to walk toward “more love and a definitive peace” by continuing to recognize the international status of Jerusalem.
And they say that “any sudden changes would cause irreparable harm.”
The letter was signed by all of the city’s major church figures, including the Greek Orthodox patriarch, Theophilos III, and Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Roman Catholic apostolic administrator.
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— President Donald Trump will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on Wednesday despite intense Arab, Muslim and European opposition to a move that would upend decades of U.S. policy and risk potentially violent protests.
Reports indicate the president will move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. I wrote him last week to explain why that would be a terrible decision. pic.twitter.com/MV1o73nyDk
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) December 5, 2017
Trump will instruct the State Department to begin the multi-year process of moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city, U.S. officials said Tuesday. It remains unclear, however, when he might take that physical step, which is required by U.S. law but has been waived on national security grounds for more than two decades.
The announcement brought warnings from leaders in the Mideast and elsewhere that this move could cause violent protests and complicate Mideast peace efforts.
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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman says the Turkish leader is inviting leaders of member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to an extraordinary meeting to discuss Jerusalem’s status next week.
Ibrahim Kalin told reporters on Wednesday that the meeting, planned for Dec. 13, will give the opportunity for Muslim countries leaders to act together and coordinate following President Donald Trump’s expected recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Kalin also said that Turkey calls on the U.S. administration to “immediately turn away from this grave mistake that will virtually eliminate the fragile Middle East peace process.”
Erdogan said on Tuesday that Jerusalem was a “red line” for Muslims and could lead Turkey to cut diplomatic ties with Israel.
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1 p.m.
The Kremlin is also concerned about President Donald Trump’s expected announcement recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The move could upend decades of U.S. policy and risk potentially violent protests in the Middle East where the Arab Muslim majority is strongly opposed to the idea.
Speaking to reporters in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the “the situation is not easy.”
He said Putin discussed the issue with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas late on Tuesday and expressed his concern about “a possible deterioration.”
Peskov said, however, that the Kremlin would refrain from commenting a decision that has not been announced yet.
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12:40 p.m.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel isn’t likely to be able to sign peace treaties with Arab states without a deal with the Palestinians, but asserts that it can enjoy covert ties with many of them.
Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday at the Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference and was notably silent on the issue of President Donald Trump’s anticipated announcement later in the day recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The prime minister said that while relations with Arab states have thawed, “it doesn’t mean that we can make peace treaties yet with the Arab world without some kind of movement with the Palestinians.”
He says: “Peace treaties, no, everything else below that, yes, and it’s happening.”
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12:35 p.m.
A senior Palestinian official says President Donald Trump’s expected recognition of contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital means that “the peace process is finished” because Washington “has already pre-empted the outcome.”
Under an international consensus backed by successive U.S. presidents, Jerusalem’s fate is to be determined in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
The Palestinians seek a capital in east Jerusalem, captured and annexed by Israel in 1967. Unlike its predecessors, the current Israeli government rejects partition of the city.
Hanan Ashrawi warned Wednesday that a U.S. shift on Jerusalem is a dangerous “game changer.”
Trump has promised a Mideast deal, but Ashrawi says that “there is no way that there can be talks with the Americans.”
Ashrawi says the Palestinian leadership is to hold consultations soon and decide on the next move.
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12:25 p.m.
Britain’s top diplomat is calling on the U.S. administration to present a Mideast peace plan quickly following President Donald Trump’s move to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Brussels.
He said, speaking alongside Tillerson, that the U.K. will have to “wait and see” what Trump says in his speech later on Wednesday.
But Johnson says the decision clearly “makes it more important than ever that the long-awaited American proposals on the Middle East peace process are now brought forward.”
He says that should happen “as a matter of priority.”
Tillerson did not comment on the president’s decision but says it hasn’t been a major topic with fellow diplomats during his meetings this week at NATO headquarters.
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12:15 p.m.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has condemned President Donald Trump’s imminent recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The state TV’s website quotes Khamenei as saying that “when they (U.S.) claim that they want to declare Jerusalem as the capital of occupied Palestine, it shows their inability. ”
He also added that he is convinced “the victory will ultimately be for the Islamic nation and Palestine” and that “the Palestinian people will be victorious” in their struggle.
Iran does not recognize Israel, and supports anti-Israeli militant groups like Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas.
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12:05 p.m.
China has expressed concerns over “possible aggravation of regional tensions” in response to the expected U.S. announcement recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Geng Shuang, a spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Wednesday the China would monitor developments on the issue.
He says the “issue of Jerusalem’s status is complicated and sensitive” and that “all sides should focus on regional peace and tranquility, act with caution, and avoid sabotaging the foundation for the settlement of Palestinian issues and triggering new confrontation in the region.”
China has provided the Palestinians with financial and technical aid. It also has built stronger ties with Israel, providing a large market for Israeli technology.
China says it views both Israel and the Palestinians as “important partners” in its “One Belt, One Road” initiative, a mammoth Chinese-funded push to develop transport routes including ports, railways and roads to expand trade in a vast arc of countries across Asia, Africa and Europe.
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11:55 a.m.
Syria’s Foreign Ministry says President Donald Trump’s expected announcement to recognize of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is a “dangerous step” that will fuel global conflict.
The ministry in Damascus issued a statement on Wednesday calling Trump’s imminent move the “culmination of the crime of the seizing of Palestine and the displacement of the Palestinian people.”
It also urged Arab states to stop normalizing relations with Israel.
Israel has mainly stayed out of the conflict in Syria, though it has carried out a number of airstrikes against suspected arms shipments believed to be bound for Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, which is fighting alongside President Bashar Assad’s forces.
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11:50 a.m.
Two leading Lebanese newspapers have issued front page rebukes to President Donald Trump over his expected announcement recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The An-Nahar compares the U.S. president to the late British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour, who a hundred years ago famously promised Palestine as a national home to the Jewish People, in what is known as the Balfour declaration.
The paper’s Wednesday headline reads: “Trump, Balfour of the century, gifts Jerusalem to Israel.”
The English-language Daily Star newspaper has published a full-page photo of Old City of Jerusalem capped by the Dome of the Rock beneath the headline: “No offense Mr. President, Jerusalem is the capital of PALESTINE.”
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11:35 a.m.
Pope Francis is calling for the status quo of Jerusalem to be respected and for “wisdom and prudence” to prevail to avoid further conflict.
Francis made the appeal during his weekly Wednesday audience, ahead of the expected U.S. announcement by President Donald Trump recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Francis said he was “profoundly concerned” about recent developments, and declared Jerusalem a unique and sacred place for Christians, Jews and Muslims that has a “special vocation for peace.”
He appealed “that everyone respects the status quo of the city” according to U.N. resolutions.
He says: “I pray to the Lord that its identity is preserved and strengthened for the benefit of the Holy Land, the Middle East and the whole world and that wisdom and prudence prevail to prevent new elements of tension from being added to a global context already convulsed by so many cruel conflicts.”
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11:30 a.m.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says the “whole world is against” President Donald Trump’s move to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and eventually move the U.S. Embassy there.
Cavusoglu’s remarks came just before a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday.
He says that moving the embassy to Jerusalem would be a “grave mistake.”
Cavusoglu says such a move would “not bring any stability, peace but rather chaos and instability.”
The Turkish diplomat says the whole world is reacting, not just the Muslim world. He says he’s raised the issue with Tillerson in the past and plans to do so again.
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11:20 a.m.
Pope Francis has called for dialogue that respects the rights of everyone in the Holy Land and expressed his hope for “peace and prosperity” for the Palestinian people, ahead of the expected announcement that the U.S. will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Francis made the comments on Wednesday during a previously scheduled meeting with a Palestinian delegation of religious and intellectual leaders. The Vatican says it was coincidental that the audience fell on the same day as the U.S. announcement.
In his remarks, Francis said the Holy Land was the “land par excellence of dialogue between God and mankind.”
He said: “The primary condition of that dialogue is reciprocal respect and a commitment to strengthening that respect, for the sake of recognizing the rights of all people, wherever they happen to be.”
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11:10 a.m.
Israel’s justice minister says she welcomes Trump’s declaration on Jerusalem and encourages him to “move the embassy de facto” to Jerusalem.
Ayelet Shaked told The Associated Press on the sidelines of the Jerusalem Post’s Diplomatic Conference on Wednesday that Trump has to go beyond the paperwork stage and not be intimidated by Arab threats of violence.
Shaked says: “I wouldn’t be worried about this event or the other. If Arab leaders take steps to prevent unrest, there won’t be any unrest.”
She spoke ahead of a speech at the conference by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
President Trump is slated to make an announcement about recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, which has garnered widespread condemnation from the Palestinians and the wider Arab world, later on Wednesday.
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10:35 a.m.
Britain’s foreign secretary is expressing concern about reports that U.S. President Donald Trump might recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Boris Johnson says: “Let’s wait and see what the president says exactly, but we view the reports that we’ve heard with concern.”
He told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday that Britain thinks “Jerusalem obviously should be part of the final settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians — a negotiated settlement that we want to see.”
Johnson added: “We have no plans ourselves to move our embassy.”
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10:30 a.m.
Pope Francis has spoken with the Palestinian leader about the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and is meeting with a Palestinian delegation of religious and academic leaders.
Vatican officials say Wednesday’s meeting was organized well in advance by the Vatican’s interreligious dialogue office, and that it was purely coincidental that it fell on the same day as the U.S. announcement, expected in the early afternoon in Washington.
The Vatican says Francis spoke by telephone on Tuesday with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas after President Donald Trump called Abbas to advise him of his decision. The call came at Abbas’ initiative.
The Vatican has long sought an internationally guaranteed status for Jerusalem that safeguards its sacred character for Jews, Muslims and Christians.
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9:40 a.m.
Turkey’s prime minister says President Donald Trump’s expected recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital will make the region’s problems “unresolvable.”
U.S. officials have told The Associated Press the announcement would come on Wednesday and would include instructions for the State Department to begin moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim spoke about the possibility at a news conference with South Korean officials in Seoul.
Yildirim said it was vital for the Middle Eastern region and for global peace that Trump not make such an announcement.
Jerusalem is sacred to Christians, Jews and Muslims and is a contentious part of Israel-Palestinian negotiations.
The prime minister said a declaration could cause religious clashes and destroy efforts toward formation of a Palestinian state.
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9:15 a.m.
President Donald Trump will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital despite intense Arab, Muslim and European opposition to a move that would upend decades of U.S. policy and risk potentially violent protests.
U.S. officials say Trump will also instruct the State Department on Wednesday to begin the multi-year process of moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city.
The officials said numerous logistical and security details, as well as site determination and construction, will need to be finalized first. Because of those issues, the embassy is not likely to move for at least 3 or 4 years, presuming there is no future change in U.S. policy.
The U.S. officials spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity Tuesday because they were not authorized to publicly preview Trump’s announcement.
8:30 p.m.
The U.N. says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opposes any unilateral action on Jerusalem that could undermine a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday that “we’ve always regarded Jerusalem as a final status issue that must be resolved through direct negotiations by the two parties based on relevant Security Council resolutions.”
Dujarric said the United Nations is waiting to see an official announcement from President Donald Trump on whether he intends to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move Israel strongly supports and the Palestinians vehemently oppose.
Arab and Muslim countries have warned that such an announcement, or a U.S. declaration that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, could harm fragile Mideast peace efforts.
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8:15 p.m.
The Palestinians have rejected a possible move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and warned it would have serious implications for American-led peace efforts.
Nabil Abu Rdeneh, spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, said Tuesday that moving the embassy would be “unacceptable” to the Palestinians.
He says: “If this happens, it will complicate things. It will put an obstacle to the peace process. Maybe it will be the end of the peace process.” He urged the U.S. to “backtrack” if it wants to push forward with peace efforts.
Abu Rdeneh spoke to reporters shortly after President Donald Trump called Abbas to discuss his “intention” to move the embassy. It remains unclear when such a move would take place.
The official Wafa news agency said Abbas called Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of rallying opposition to the expected move.
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7:45 p.m.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi is urging the United States not to take measures that could change Jerusalem’s status, as the Trump administration considers recognizing the contested city as Israel’s capital.
Egypt’s presidency says in a statement Tuesday that el-Sissi spoke to President Donald Trump by phone about the administration’s plans, and urged the U.S. leader to avoid any actions that would undermine Middle East peace efforts.
U.S. officials have said Trump may recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a highly charged declaration that risks inflaming tensions across the Middle East but would be a way to offset a likely decision delaying his campaign promise to move the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv.
Egypt is one of only two Arab countries to have made peace with Israel.
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6:30 p.m.
Egypt has warned of “possible dangerous repercussions” if U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on plans to recognize contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry had discussed the matter with his French counterpart. It said they called on the Trump administration to wait and reconsider.
French President Emmanuel Macron earlier said he reminded Trump in a phone call that the fate of Jerusalem should be determined in negotiations on setting up a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Macron said he expressed concern about any possible unilateral U.S. moves and that he agreed with Trump “to speak again shortly on this subject.”
U.S. officials have said Trump may recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a highly charged declaration that risks inflaming tensions across the Middle East but would be a way to offset a likely decision delaying his campaign promise to move the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv.
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6:15 p.m.
Germany’s foreign minister is warning that any U.S. move to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel would be dangerous and could deepen the Middle East conflict.
Sigmar Gabriel said Tuesday that “recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel does not calm a conflict, rather it fuels it even more,” and that such a move “would be a very dangerous development.”
Gabriel told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels that “it’s in everyone’s interest that this does not happen.”
U.S. officials have said a possible recognition might come this week, prompting mounting Arab and Muslim criticism.
Gabriel said Germany and its European Union partners continue to support a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
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6 p.m.
The official Palestinian news agency says President Donald Trump informed Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas of his plans to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to contested Jerusalem.
The WAFA agency says Trump informed Abbas of his decision in a phone call Tuesday.
Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh says Abbas warned Trump of the dangers of such a decision to Mideast peace efforts as well as security and stability in the region and the world.
The statement did not say if Trump told Abbas when he plans to move the embassy.
The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, and have warned they would halt contacts with Washington if Trump makes unilateral decisions about the status of the city.
Jerusalem, home to key Muslim, Christian and Jewish shrines, is the combustible centerpiece of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
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5:45 p.m.
President Donald Trump plans to speak Tuesday with the leaders of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority as he deliberates over whether to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, or to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested city.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Trump has calls scheduled with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Jordan’s King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Sanders says Trump is likely to speak with other counterparts Tuesday. She did not identify them, as those calls haven’t been confirmed.
U.S. officials say Trump may recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital this week as a way to offset a likely decision to delay his campaign promise to move the U.S. embassy there.
Arab and Muslim opposition to such a move was mounting Tuesday.
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3 p.m.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief is subtly warning the United States against moves that would undermine Mideast peace.
Federica Mogherini is meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Brussels. She’s calling for a “meaningful peace process” leading to a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.
Mogherini says the EU believes that “any action that would undermine this effort must be absolutely avoided.” She appeared to be referring to President Donald Trump’s deliberations about moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to contested Jerusalem.
Mogherini says the EU will discuss the peace issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday and early next year with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
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2:15 p.m.
The chief of the Arab League is warning the United States not to take any measures that would change Jerusalem’s current legal and political status.
Ahmed Aboul-Gheit spoke on Tuesday during a meeting in Cairo of Arab League representatives gathered to discuss President Donald Trump’s possible recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Aboul-Gheit says the possible U.S. decision would be a “dangerous measure that would have repercussions” across the entire Mideast region.
He also urged the Trump administration to reconsider the issue.
American officials have said Trump may recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital this week.
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1:15 p.m.
Israeli officials are playing down threats by Turkey’s president, Tayyip Erdogan, to cut ties if President Donald Trump goes ahead with recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The officials noted on Tuesday that Jerusalem has been the “capital of the Jewish people for 3000 years and Israel’s capital for 70 years, regardless of whether Erdogan recognizes this or not.”
They spoke on condition of anonymity because the government has not yet commented formally.
Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, meanwhile, said that “at the end of the day it is better to have a united Jerusalem than Erdogan’s sympathy.”
Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, while the Palestinians claim the eastern part of the city, captured by Israel in 1967, as their capital. The rival claims are at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and a U.S. decision taking sides could roil the region.
—Josef Federman in Jerusalem;
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1:05 p.m.
The Trump administration appears to have missed a statutory deadline to sign a new waiver keeping the U.S. Embassy in Israel in the city of Tel Aviv.
The deadline came and went without any White House announcement about whether President Donald Trump had signed a waiver. Without the waiver, by the law the embassy is supposed to move to Jerusalem. The White House said Monday that Trump was still deciding.
American officials have said Trump may recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital this week.
The implications of missing the deadline are unclear. Lawyers have said there’s some flexibility in the exact timing. Congress could withhold State Department funding for overseas facilities but is unlikely to do so. The Trump administration has blown through many other congressional deadlines without consequence in the past.
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12:55 p.m.
Saudi Arabia has spoken out strongly against any possible U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The kingdom, a regional powerhouse that could help the White House push through a Middle East settlement, expressed its “grave and deep concern” about such a possible recognition.
In a statement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the kingdom affirms the rights of Palestinian people regarding Jerusalem which it said “cannot be changed.”
The statement warned that this step would “provoke sentiments of Muslims throughout world.”
Palestinians seek east Jerusalem, captured and annexed by Israel in 1967, as a future capital. Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital.
American officials have said Trump may recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital this week.
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11:40 a.m.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is a ‘red line’ for Muslims.
Erdogan said in a speech in parliament on Tuesday that such a step would lead Ankara to cut off all diplomatic ties with Israel. He also said he would convene a summit meeting of countries of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation to oppose any move recognizing Jerusalem.
Israel regards Jerusalem as its capital, a position nearly the entire world rejects saying its status should be determined in peace talks with the Palestinians. The Palestinians claim the eastern part of the city as their future capital.
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10:40 a.m.
The diplomatic adviser of President Mahmoud Abbas says the Palestinian leadership would “stop contacts” with the United States if President Donald Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
U.S. officials have said a possible recognition might come this week, prompting mounting Arab and Muslim criticism.
Abbas’ aide Majdi Khaldi said on Tuesday the U.S. would lose credibility as a Mideast mediator if Trump goes ahead with the move.
East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967, is home to major Muslim, Christian and Jewish holy sites. The Palestinians seek it as a future capital, while Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital.
Arab League representatives were to discuss the Jerusalem controversy on Tuesday. The organization said on Monday that Trump’s possible recognition would constitute “naked aggression” against Muslims and Arabs.
