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AFP
Jerusalem
The US government has outraged the Palestinians with several controversial moves, including President Donald Trump’s 2017 recognition of the disputed city of Jerusalem as capital of Israel.
Here is a recap: - At the Western Wall -On May 16, 2017 the new US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, presents his credentials to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin at a ceremony in Jerusalem.
Friedman, a strong supporter of Israeli settlement-building in the occupied West Bank, had in the past advocated moving the American embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem -- a departure from decades of international consensus that the city’s status should be settled through negotiations.
On May 22 and 23 Trump calls on Israelis and Palestinians to take difficult decisions for peace, after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the occupied West Bank. Trump becomes the first sitting US president to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City.
In December 2017 Trump says “it is time to officially recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel”, effectively ignoring Palestinian claims on the Holy City and breaking with previous US policy.
Outraged, the Palestinians cut all contact with the American administration. Abbas says the US can no longer play its historic role as mediator of peace talks with the Israelis.
On January 14, 2018 Abbas denounces White House peace efforts as “the slap of the century”.
On January 25 Trump accuses Palestinians of disrespecting the US after it snubbed Vice President Mike Pence during his visit to the Middle East.
On March 5 Trump hosts Netanyahu at the White House and says US-Israel ties have “never been better”. The US embassy is officially transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, 2018, a day marked by clashes in the Gaza Strip, where about 60 Palestinian protesters are killed by Israeli fire.
On June 1 Washington vetoes a UN draft resolution calling for measures to protect Palestinians.
On August 31, the US says it will end all funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, a week after it axes more than $200 million in bilateral aid for Gaza and the West Bank. On September 8 Washington says it plans to cut $25 million in aid to hospitals primarily serving Palestinians in east Jerusalem.
The same month the Trump administration announces it is closing the Palestine Liberation Organization’s mission in Washington, accusing the Palestinians of refusing to negotiate peace with Israel.
“This is yet another affirmation of the Trump administration’s policy to collectively punish the Palestinian people,” PLO secretary-general Saeb Erekat says.
On March 4, 2019 the US downgrades its diplomatic mission to the Palestinians, by closing its Jerusalem consulate general that had acted independently and served as a de facto embassy to the
Palestinians.
Jerusalem
The US government has outraged the Palestinians with several controversial moves, including President Donald Trump’s 2017 recognition of the disputed city of Jerusalem as capital of Israel.
Here is a recap: - At the Western Wall -On May 16, 2017 the new US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, presents his credentials to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin at a ceremony in Jerusalem.
Friedman, a strong supporter of Israeli settlement-building in the occupied West Bank, had in the past advocated moving the American embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem -- a departure from decades of international consensus that the city’s status should be settled through negotiations.
On May 22 and 23 Trump calls on Israelis and Palestinians to take difficult decisions for peace, after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the occupied West Bank. Trump becomes the first sitting US president to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City.
In December 2017 Trump says “it is time to officially recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel”, effectively ignoring Palestinian claims on the Holy City and breaking with previous US policy.
Outraged, the Palestinians cut all contact with the American administration. Abbas says the US can no longer play its historic role as mediator of peace talks with the Israelis.
On January 14, 2018 Abbas denounces White House peace efforts as “the slap of the century”.
On January 25 Trump accuses Palestinians of disrespecting the US after it snubbed Vice President Mike Pence during his visit to the Middle East.
On March 5 Trump hosts Netanyahu at the White House and says US-Israel ties have “never been better”. The US embassy is officially transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, 2018, a day marked by clashes in the Gaza Strip, where about 60 Palestinian protesters are killed by Israeli fire.
On June 1 Washington vetoes a UN draft resolution calling for measures to protect Palestinians.
On August 31, the US says it will end all funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, a week after it axes more than $200 million in bilateral aid for Gaza and the West Bank. On September 8 Washington says it plans to cut $25 million in aid to hospitals primarily serving Palestinians in east Jerusalem.
The same month the Trump administration announces it is closing the Palestine Liberation Organization’s mission in Washington, accusing the Palestinians of refusing to negotiate peace with Israel.
“This is yet another affirmation of the Trump administration’s policy to collectively punish the Palestinian people,” PLO secretary-general Saeb Erekat says.
On March 4, 2019 the US downgrades its diplomatic mission to the Palestinians, by closing its Jerusalem consulate general that had acted independently and served as a de facto embassy to the
Palestinians.
