President Donald Trump has, in fact, disregarded the US tradition and international laws by re-establishing embassy of the United States from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, this year. He did this in spite of opposition from the global community which was clearly evident at the UN General Assembly on December 17, 2017, when 128 countries voted against the United States.
The foundation of American embassy was laid practically by President Trump himself who sent a videotaped message where he said, "Israel is a sovereign nation with the right, like every other sovereign nation, to determine its own capital. Yet for many years, we failed to acknowledge the obvious, the plain reality that Israel's capital is Jerusalem." The President's daughter and an advisor to him, Ivanka Trump, unveiled the dedication plaque and seal of the US embassy.
The relocation of the American embassy in Jerusalem coincided with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel through occupation of Palestinian territories which the Palestinians observe as Nakba (the Day of Catastrophy). Interestingly enough, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Darner were also present at the inaugural ceremony of the American embassy in Jerusalem. The American delegation was led by US Vice-President Mike Pence.
While the inaugural ceremony was on, clashes between Palestinians from Gaza strip and Israeli soldiers resulted in the killing of around 61 Palestinians and wounding 2,700. There were also protests by Palestinians in East Jerusalem. This is the second massacre by Israeli soldiers since 2014. Not only did the Trump administration refuse to criticise Israel, they also blocked Kuwaiti statement in the UN Security Council which reportedly expressed rage and sorrow while calling for an independent and transparent investigation into Israeli's action.
At the inaugural ceremony, Vice-President Mike Pence described the day as "nothing less than a great day for Israel" and added that Israel was not just 70 years old--"it's 70 years strong". Jared Kushner, a senior advisor to the US President and his son-in-law, pointed finger at the Palestinians saying they were responsible for provoking violence.
Since recognition of state of Israel by the United States in 1948, no President of the United States moved its embassy to Jerusalem as the status of Jerusalem is disputed in both international law and diplomatic practice as of now. Following USA's footsteps, Guatemala and Romania has declared to move their embassies to Jerusalem.
Resolution 181 of the UN General Assembly on November 29, 1947 planned to divide Palestine into Arab and Jewish states while Jerusalem was to be established as corpus separatism with legal and political status to be administered by the UN. Following the six-day war with Arab countries in 1967, Israel enacted Jerusalem law by its Knesset in 1980 declaring complete and united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Israeli law was declared null and void by unanimous resolution 478 of the Security Council on August 20, 1980. This was one of seven Security Council resolutions against annexation of Jerusalem by Israel.
This shows that Israel disregarded Security Council resolutions, which by implication is a violation of law. Palestine Liberation Organisation considers East Jerusalem as an occupied territory according to resolution 242, which in fact affirmed that the people of Palestine have right to sovereignty over East Jerusalem.
In the past five decades, US President of both parties have opposed occupation of Palestinian territories. President Obama demanded on December 23, 2016 that Israel end the construction of its settlement in occupied Palestinian territories. In fact, construction of settlements in occupied territories goes against Fourth Geneva convention. This has been, time and again, confirmed by the UN Security Council, General assembly, International committee of Red Cross, International court of Justice and the high contracting parities to the Geneva Convention. Therefore, Israel has consistently been violating International law by constructing settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.
On the other hand, shifting the US embassy to Jerusalem was approved by US congress in 1995 through the embassy Act. But President Trump's decision to relocate the embassy appears to be on the ground of shifting focus of ongoing investigations against him, his son and son-in-law by Special Counsel for his alleged involvement with Russia, apart from offering money to porn actress to hide his crime.
A recent bombshell by Senate Intelligence Committee on May 16 confirmed that Russia played a role in 2016 presidential election in favour of Donald Trump. Similarly, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, who has established close links with President Trump, is facing investigation on a charge of bribery. The move of establishing the US embassy in Jerusalem follows the US pull out from a nuclear deal with Iran recently, upon Netanyahu's suggestions.
Meanwhile, the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) considered the US move an illegal decision and an attack on the historical, legal, natural and national rights of the people of Palestine. It further said that the move represented an affront to international peace and security.
The White House released a statement on May 16 that moving the US embassy to Jerusalem will increase stability and the chance of peace. However, the move ignored 70 years of international consensus. As such, the two-state solution will remain as elusive as ever as another intifada is likely to flare up in occupied Palestinian territories soon.
Mohammad Amjad Hossain is a retired diplomat from Bangladesh.