By Israel Today—
When US President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last month, he was very careful to not use the words “united” or “undivided,” as Israel insists the city must remain.
Now, Israel is being told by another global power that it will ultimately have to “share” Jerusalem with the Palestinian Authority, which claims the eastern half of the Holy City as its capital.
While the current British government is generally in step with Trump, it vocally disagreed with his Jerusalem declaration, fearing it would be exploited to predetermine the outcome of peace negotiations.
On Monday, British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson reiterated “the UK’s commitment to supporting the Palestinian people and the two-state solution, the urgent need for renewed peace negotiations, and the UK’s clear and longstanding position on the status of Jerusalem. It should be determined in a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians…”
Of course, Trump himself said as much in his speech a month earlier, but saw no reason to not, in the meantime, recognize the obvious – that at least the western half of Jerusalem is and has long been the capital of Israel.
Johnson then went on to do precisely what he and the rest of the international community accused Trump of doing – predetermine the final outcome of that “negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians.”
“Jerusalem should ultimately be the shared capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states,” said Britain’s top diplomat.
What those insisting on such a compromise outcome fail to take into account is that the vast majority of Israelis reject the notion of ever again dividing Jerusalem, and that most Palestinians deny that the Jewish people have any history in, and therefore claim to, the city.
Not to mention that Jerusalem was divided between 1948-1967, and the situation was a nightmare for its residents.
