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Jerusalem and the US embassy, afresh

May 31,2018 - Last updated at May 31,2018

The last couple of weeks, or so, drove the region to most horrendous events: The methodical massacre of Gaza-hostage Palestinian protesters by Israeli forces, the decision of US President Donald Trump’s administration to launch its embassy in Jerusalem, a city holy to both Muslims and Christians on equal footage, in sheer infringement of the international law, and US Senior Adviser Jared Kushner’s inexplicable venture into Jordan’s historical Hashemite custody of the Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem! 

Undoubtedly, such atrocious sequential events, as alarming as they are, shall bitterly remove any perception of hope or aspiration toward peace and stability in an ever-boiling region. The sad reality is: any such “hopes” seem to be fading. Both academics and laymen in Jordan express their infuriation and dissatisfaction with a decision, which is as aggravating as it is disappointing.

The US administration’s strategies in prejudiced support of Israel, the grueling regional conflicts around us, the refugee and water shortage crises all add up to a perplexing political atmosphere and a very meager room, if any, for political manipulation.

On a more hopeful level, however, the final communiqué of the recent extraordinary summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation emphasised its support of the Hashemite custodianship assumed by His Majesty King Abdullah on Muslim and Christian holy shrines in Al Quds, Jerusalem, a summit held in response to the developments following the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem and the Israeli violence against Palestinians, particularly in the Gaza Strip.

The summit also vowed support of the Jordanian custody of Jerusalem and Al Aqsa Mosque Islamic Waqf and its role in taking care of Al Haram Al Sharif. It asserted that Jerusalem is Palestine’s interminable capital, calling for taking measures to prevent other countries from moving their embassies to Jerusalem.

As always, Jordan reiterated its rejection of the US move to relocate the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which is supposed to be one of the key issues to be negotiated between the Palestinians and Israelis in any future peace talks.

Jerusalem, the city of peace, has ironically become a bloodletting issue! As Palestinians bury their dead and mark Nakba (the day of catastrophe), they will be more determined to achieve their national aspirations in spite of the prejudiced US decision. They will live on despite attempts to deny their existence, the justice of their cause and the need to end their 70 years of suffering inflicted by their victimisers, who once upon a time were victims of a similar suffering.

By relocating the US embassy, the US administration has endorsed an illegal occupation of Muslim-Arab Jerusalem even though the sovereignty over the occupied city has never been recognised by the international community, because its occupation violates international law. And the two-state solution has become so unlikely a story beyond possible human imagination, because occupation of the land is what makes any sort of dialogue unrealistic.

To be sure, nations’ differences are not cultural, nor are they religious. They are political, and the political issues are at the core of the matter that, at once, needs to be instantly investigated to help reach a fair, just understanding of the rights of Palestinians and reconsider the ways in which the US administration can support the creation of peace and justice!

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