The Hardest Fight of Palestinian and Arab

AFP/Ahmad GHARABLI

Palestinian Muslim worshippers shout slogans during Friday prayer in front of the Dome of the Rock mosque at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Jerusalem\'s Old City on December 8, 2017. Israel deployed hundreds of additional police officers following Palestinian calls for protests after the main weekly Muslim prayers against US President Donald Trump\'s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel\'s capital.

Palestinian and Arab leaders on Friday continued intensive negotiations to find the best collective reaction to United States President Donald Trump’s decision on Wednesday to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city.

Palestinian, Arab and Islamic world leaders were facing psychological pressure to immediately take a decision amid waves of anti-US and Israel rallies in several cities such as Cairo, Amman, Tunis, Rabat, West Bank and Gaza City.

Palestinian and Arab leaders believe Trump’s decision transformed the paradigm of the Arab-Israeli conflict, namely from simply an Israel-Palestine conflict post-Oslo Agreement, into an Arab-Israeli conflict, like the situation before the 1993 Oslo Agreement.

In fact, the map of the conflict could expand into an international conflict rather than simply a Middle East conflict, to involve Arabs, Islam, Europe, Russia, the international community and the United Nations on one side and the US and Israel in the other side.

The UN, European Union and Russia have strongly condemned Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

So, the decision of the Arab League’s emergency foreign ministerial meeting in Cairo on Saturday and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s extraordinary summit in Istanbul on Wednesday is much anticipated.

This is the hardest political fight for Palestine, the Arab League and the OIC because Trump’s decision may close the opportunity for East Jerusalem to become the capital of Palestine.

In fact, it has become a barometer as to whether there will be peace in Palestine without East Jerusalem.

If the Arab League and the OIC can find a correct collective reaction with support from UN, Europe, the Vatican and Russia it could possibly isolate the US and Israel.

President Trump, particularly, will suffer losses bigger than any benefit he might get from recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Legally and politically, Trump’s decision did not change anything related to the status of Jerusalem. According to international legality the status of Jerusalem is set out under UN Resolution No 181 dated Nov. 29, 1947, which is as a city whose status quo as an international city must be maintained.

Politically, no country in the world recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital except the US.

Therefore, legally and politically, the position of the Palestinian, Arab, Islam and Christian worlds is strong enough to face the Zionists’ attempts, supported by the US, to control hegemony of the city of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is sensitive enough to be dominated by external particular political power because the city is a holy city for three religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

So, Jerusalem does not belong only to Palestine, but also to the Arab, Islam and Christian world. Thus, the issue of Jerusalem is bigger than the issue of Palestine.

Palestine will not be able to solve the issue of Jerusalem alone. It must consult with the Arab world, the OIC and the Vatican.

In the 1993 Oslo Agreement between Israel and Palestine, sponsored by the US, the issue of Jerusalem was not on the negotiation table because of the sensitivity of the city. Israel and Palestine with the US support in the Oslo Agreement principally agreed that the status of Jerusalem must be settled through negotiations.

So, there is no other choice regarding the solution to Jerusalem today, it must be a win-win solution for all sides.

If Palestine and the Arab world successfully develop a new world power to challenge the US, or to isolate US and Israel, there is still a chance East Jerusalem could be part of the peace negotiation or even become the capital of Palestine.

Therefore, Arab leaders must put a priority on the Jerusalem issue and put aside the different opinions among themselves. Otherwise, if they fail to make the Jerusalem issue a top priority but instead get caught in bigger troubles, the holy city will slip from their hands forever.

There are two crucial events in the near future that will serve as a yardstick for Palestine, the Arab League and the OIC stance regarding Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

First, the visit of US Vice President Mike Pence to the Middle East in mid-December to calm the region following Trump’s statement. There is a question whether the Arab leaders will welcome Pence or his services.

Palestine has declared its opposition to welcoming Pence. However, Trump has issued a strong warning to Palestine if it rejects Pence visit.

Second, the stance of Arab leaders toward the US’ peace proposal on Israel-Palestine, which is regarded as the transaction of the decade. According to schedule, the transaction of the decade will be announced early or mid-2018.

It also remains to be seen whether Palestine and the rest of the Arab world are ready to accept the transaction of the decade after Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.