The US President Donald Trump, overturning decades of carefully calibrated American diplomatic posturing over the last seven decades, has formally declared Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a historic day, and Israel was profoundly grateful to President Trump. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, on the other hand reaffirmed that Jerusalem was the “eternal capital of the state of Palestine”. For the Palestinian leadership, setting up their own capital in East Jerusalem is central to a potential peace settlement. East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel after the Six Day War of 1967, but is not internationally recognised as part of Israel.

Source: dna December 08, 2017 01:41 UTC