By Aaron Miller-
The EU’s top diplomat on Thursday has warned that the Israel-Palestine conflict could descend into “even darker times”.
Federica Mogherini, the bloc’s foreign affairs chief, sounded her grim warning in reference to the ugly wave of protests and violence that has accompanied the controversial judgment of President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. She said the U.S announcement “has a very worrying potential impact” for peace in the region. “It could send us backwards into even darker times than the ones we are already living in,” she said.The UN Security Council meets on Friday after eight countries, including permanent council members, France and the UK, asked António Guterres, UN secretary-general, for a briefing on Mr Trump’s decision.
DEFIANCE
Additional battalions have been deployed by the military to the West Bank as protests spread across the territory. Palestinian leaders called for three days of “rage” in an act of defiance against the announcement. Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist faction that controls Gaza, and Hizbollah, the Lebanese militant group allied to Iran, both called for a new uprising, or intifada, against Israel. The call for an uprising was a poor reaction to Trump’s announcement, and signals an ominous escalation of events between Israelites and Palestinians. Supporters of both countries can easily get caught up in the huge tension.
Trump’s announcement on Wednesday that he planned to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in a dramatic reversal of seven decades of U.S policy has got the ball of fire rolling. . The status of Jerusalem has always been one of the thorniest issues at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Israel considers Jerusalem as its undivided capital , claiming a blanket sovereign right over the whole city. Palestinians, on the other hand see it as their future capital. The international community’s position has long been that Jerusalem’s status should be determined by peace talks.
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Mr Trump has promised to strike an “ultimate deal” to end the conflict, but Palestinians will not see the U.S president as having the credentials to achieve this. Condemnation for his views have poured in from all corners, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Russia and China, and the UK. An official comment from Downing Street on Thursday said the U.S had a Trust Deficit.
The Israeli military yesterday struck targets in Gaza on Thursday in response to rockets fired at Israel. It claimed one rocket exploded in southern Israel, in addition to two earlier ones launched from Gaza that fell short and landed in the Palestinian territory. A jihadist Salafi group in Gaza called the Al-Tawheed Brigades claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks
“We should call for and we should work on launching an intifada in the face of the Zionist enemy,” said Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ leader said on Thursday. He was backed by Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbollah’s leader, who in a speech said: “The Arab and Islamic world should provide all of its moral, political, financial, and arms support to the Palestinian people in their new intifada.” Hamas and Hizbollah have both fought wars with Israel. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, warned Mr Trump of the “dangerous consequences” his decision would have on the “security and stability of the region of the world” after he spoke to the US president this week.
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