January 23, 2017
How Trump can move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem
For years, presidential candidates have promised to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem only to renege after entering office. President Donald Trump appears serious about breaking this precedent, and there is rampant speculation in the Israeli press that he may announce this move in the next few days.
Moving the embassy would upend 50 years of American policy, which has held that the issue of Jerusalem can be negotiated only between Israelis and Palestinians. It’s a high-stakes move, and, given the religious sensitivity around it, it could spark violence targeted at American diplomatic facilities across the Middle East. But Trump could fulfill his pledge, while mitigating some negative consequences, if he were to pair it with another radical move: formal recognition of the state of Palestine. On the surface, such a move may seem entirely unrealistic. But for a deal-maker like Trump who wants to shake up policy across the U.S. government, it could represent an attractive compromise.
The underlying dispute in the U.S. on this issue is less about whether Jerusalem should be the capital of Israel. Since 1996, both party platforms have called for acknowledging Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Instead, the dispute is strategic about whether moving the U.S. Embassy would help—or set back—the prospect for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Read the full article at Politico.
More from CNAS
-
The Axis of Upheaval
Commentary
The West has been too quick to dismiss the coordination among China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia....
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Richard Fontaine
-
Iran ‘minimizing impact’ of Israeli strike: analyst
Video
ranian media reported explosions, but an Iranian official told Reuters those were caused by air defense systems. State media said three drones over the central city of Isfahan...
By Jonathan Lord
-
Proxy battles: Iraq, Iran, and the turmoil in the Middle East
Commentary
Since Hamas’s attacks sparked the war in Gaza on 7 October 2023, a dangerous cycle of escalation has played out across the Middle East. Iran and its proxies – such as the Hout...
By Hamzeh Hadad
-
Blaise Misztal and Jonathan Lord on U.S. Ceasefire Push in Israel-Hamas War
Video
Blaise Misztal of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America and Jonathan Lord from the Center for a New American Security talked about the new push by the U.S. for...
By Jonathan Lord
