New York Times January 22, 2018 “Mike Pence Says US Embassy will open in Jerusalem Next Year” Ben Hubbard with contributions by Irit Pazner Garshowitz This article is about Mike Pence going to the Israeli Parliament during a trip to The Holy Land. During this trip he said to the Israeli Parliament that a new United States Embassy to Israel will open in Jerusalem before the end of 2019. This follows Trump’s statement recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a statement that contradicts decades of American policy and international status of Jerusalem. When Mike Pence went to the Israeli Parliament on January 15, 2018, he celebrated the strong relationship between Israel and Palestine. Pence stated, “We stand with Israel because we believe in right over wrong, in good over evil, and in liberty over tyranny.” His speech included biblical references and he made historical and religious statements about the connections between the Jewish religion and Jerusalem. Pence made almost no comments about Palestine, but said that the United States would support and two-state solution if both sides agree. Arab law makers stood up in the beginning of Pence’s speech with signs that said “Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine”. They were quickly escorted out while, to the applause of others. The Palestinian President will not meet with Pence, saying that the US recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was like a slap in the face. The chief negotiator for Palestinians, Saeb Erekat, said that this was a “gift to extremists”. Erekat said, “His message to the world id clear: violate international law and resolutions and the US will reward you.” Israel and Palestine have a long and tense history. Israel is the world’s only Jewish state. Palestinians, the Arab population that comes from land that Israel now controls, call this territory Palestine and want to create their own state on all or some of that land. The conflict between the two is over who gets what land and how it is controlled. Though the history of this conflict goes back a couple thousand years, the current political conflict started in the 20th century. Jews fleeing persecution in Europe wanted to create a homeland in what was an Arab-Muslim majority territory. Arabs saw this land as rightfully theirs, Israel and the surrounding Arab countries have fought several wars over the land. The two main ones were in 1948 and 1967, but the one in 1967 is more relevant to this event. The war of 1967 left Israel in control of The West Bank and Gaza Strip, both home to large Palestinian populations. Fast forward past many wars and ongoing conflicts, non-Muslim countries recognize Israel as a legitimate country, but most are critical of their treatment of Palestine. The US has continuously backed Israel by sending them military equipment and foreign aid. The US Embassy in Israel has always been in Tel Aviv. My opinion on this event is that by doing this we are taking an important negotiating chip away from the table in bringing the two parties together for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Though the US has been supporting Israel for years, which I don’t agree with, they didn’t recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. By doing this they have dismissed everything that Palestine has been fighting for. I will comment on Breanna's and Jazmin’s blog posts.
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