WORLD REACTION TO U.S. DECISION REGARDING ISRAEL

Alphabetical Order

1. Australia: Australia makes clear that it does not plan to follow the US lead on the issue.
2. Arab League: For the Arab League, the US decision  is a dangerous measure that will have repercussions across the region, and the Arab League also questions the future role of the US as a "trusted mediator" in peace talks.
3. China: For China, the US decision could lead to an escalation of tensions in the region.
4. Egypt: For Egypt, the US decision will complicate the situation in the region by introducing measures that will undermine chances for peace in the Middle East.
5. European Union: The European Union calls for the resumption of a meaningful peace process towards a two-state solution and that a way must be found, through negotiations, to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of both states, so that the aspiration of both parties can be fulfilled.
6. France: For French President Emmanuel Macron, the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital is regrettable. He calls efforts to avoid violence at all costs.
7. Germany: Berlin does not support the US position because the status of Jerusalem can only be negotiated within the framework of a two-state solution.
8. Iraq: The Iraqi foreign ministry summoned the US Ambassador in order to present him with a memorandum protesting the US decision regarding Jerusalem. 
9. Iran: For Iran, the US decision risks a "new intifada", or uprising. According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the US has clearly violated international resolutions.
10. Jordan: King Abdullah calls for joint efforts to deal with the ramifications of this decision and a Jordanian government spokesman said the US decision is violating international law and the UN charter. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the US announcement marks a dangerous decision that will benefit radicals in the region.
11. Lebanon: For President Michel Aoun, the peace process will be set back decades.
12. Malaysia: The Malaysian's foreign ministry calls it a miscarriage of justice. Recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel ignores the reality on the ground, endorses Israel repressive policies, violates Palestinian human rights and contravenes international law. 
13. Pakistan: The Pakistani foreign ministry expressed its strong opposition and condemnation of the US announcement. Pakistan shares the international outrage and is deeply concerned over the implications of the US decision for international peace and security, especially in the Middle East. Pakistan calls upon the UN Security Council to take cognizance of this situation and take steps in accordance with the UN Charter.
14. Palestine: For President Mahmoud Abbas the decision is tantamount to the United States abdicating its role as a peace mediator after a decade of sponsoring the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. These deplorable and unacceptable measures deliberately undermine all peace efforts. For President Mahmoud Abbas Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the state of Palestine. For Palestinian Islamist group Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh the Palestinian people everywhere will not allow this conspiracy to pass, and their options are open in defending their land and their sacred places. Hamas leader said in Gaza that Isreael's policies supported by the United States can only be confronted by a renewed intifada against the occupation. This atrocity sparks a new intifada and the US annoucement has left the peace process buried forever. Palestine will not be divided and the whole of Palestine and the whole of Jerusalem are the property of the Palestinian people. The US-Israeli alliance is satanic. It is a declaration of war against the Palestinian people in their holiest of holy places of the Christians a nd Muslims. Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, Nafeth Azzam and Ahmed al-Batsh are also ready for a new armed struggle. They call on the governing Palestinian authority to stop all security coordination with Israel, to withdraw the recognition of Israel and to declare an end to the Oslo agreements, which are the basis of peace negotiations.
15. Qatar: According to the Qatari foreign minister the US decision is a death sentence for all who seek peace.
16. Russia: For Russia, the US decision could lead to an escalation of tensions in the region.
17. Saudi Arabia: For Saudi Arabia, the relocation of the embassy or recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital constitutes a flagrant provocation of Muslims, all over the world.
18. Turkey: For the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu the US decision is irresponsible. It is against international law and relevant UN resolutions, as the annexation of Jerusalem by Israel has been rejected by the international community and the UN. It has been recurrently emphasized by various UN resolutions that the Palestinian question can only be settled through the existence of an independent, sovereign and contiguous state of Palestine based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. It is unacceptable that the U.S. a Permanent member of the UN security council ignores this fact. Attainment of independence by Palestine is a historical, conscientious and humanitarian obligation that Turkey will continue to advocate for. The US decision will have negative reflections on the peace and stability of the region, and also bears the risk of completely destroying the ground for peace.
19. United Kingdom: The UK government disagrees with the US decision which is  unhelpful in terms of prospects for peace in the region. The British embassy to Israel is based in Tel Aviv and the UK has no plans to move it. The UK position on the status of Jerusalem is clear and longstanding: it should be determined in a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and Jerusalem should ultimately be the shared capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states. In line with relevant [UN] Security Council Resolutions, the UK regards East Jerusalem as part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
20. United Nations : According to The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, the U.S. statement will jeopardize the prospect of peace for Israelis and Palestinians. Jerusalem is a final status issue that must be resolved through direct negotiations between the two parties. Such negotiations must take into account the legitimate concerns of both the Palestinians and the Israeli sides.
21. Vatican: Pope Francis appeals strongly for all to respect the city's status quo, in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions.

Note

With the US decision to recognize the Holy City of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the months of goodwill that the administration built up with their Palestinian counterparts is now squandered. Whatever slim opportunity existed for “the ultimate deal” just closed for the foreseeable future, and perhaps for the rest of the president’s first term.

To Israelis and Jews in the United States, Europe, and indeed around the world, the status of Jerusalem is an immensely symbolic and emotional issue. To Israelis, Jerusalem is already the capital of Israel; Netanyahu’s offices are there, the Knesset is seated there, and the bureaucrats in the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Interior report there for work.  There has been a working assumption among American, European and even Arab peace negotiators that Jerusalem will be Israel’s capital city when the document is signed.

The problem, is that the Palestinians also have an intense spiritual, religious, historical, and symbolic connection with the city. Just as Washington has assumed that West Jerusalem will be given to Israel in a final deal, there is a widespread assumption that East Jerusalem will be the capital of a future Palestinian state. Where the exact municipal boundaries will be drawn is a matter for both Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to figure out, but a two-state solution will entail some shared status over the Holy City. It’s a pragmatic solution to a highly combustible problem: if neither side can have the entire city, Jerusalem will have to be shared and Israeli and Palestinian politicians will have to find a way to make it work.

The US decision could give rise to potential violence that could erupt in the West Bank, Gaza, inside Israel itself, and across the Muslim world not to mention the major setback to the peace process that such a decision is likely to produce.