The United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will begin the process of moving its embassy there, President Donald Trump said Wednesday, marking a major policy shift that world leaders fear will inflame regional tensions, according to dpa. "Today we finally acknowledge the obvious - that Jerusalem is Israel's capital," he said. Trump called for the State Department to begin the multi-year process of relocating the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the holy city that both Israelis and Palestinians see as their capital, calling it a "recognition of reality" and noting the city is the seat of Israel's government. Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas in contrast declared the measures "reprehensible" and said they would undermine peace efforts and encourage Israel "to pursue the policy of occupation, settlement, apartheid and ethnic cleansing." Abbas added that Trump's decision "will not change the reality of the city of Jerusalem, nor will it give any legitimacy to Israel in this regard, because it is an Arab, Christian and Muslim city, the capital of the eternal state of Palestine." Saeb Erekat, the top negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, said Trump had "destroyed" the chance of achieving a two-state solution of Israel and Palestine side by side.
