SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"The peace process is finished," Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said in response to Trump's plans. (Photo: Musa Al Shaer/AFP)
World Condemnation and 'Days of Rage' Begin Ahead of Trump Jerusalem Announcement
"As always," noted one critic, the price of Trump's decision will be paid by Palestinians, "who have been sold out by U.S. support for Israeli occupation and apartheid for more than 70 years."
Dec 06, 2017
With U.S. President Donald Trump set to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital on Wednesday--a move denounced by the Palestinian envoy to Britain as "declaration of war" against Muslims--thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Gaza and the West Bank overnight to burn American flags and images of Trump as part of "three days of rage" declared by the occupied territories' leaders.
"The peace process is finished. There is no way that there can be talks with the Americans."
--Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian officialThe protests came as the international community fiercely condemned Trump's expected announcement, which will also reportedly include an order for the State Department to begin constructing a new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.
"The peace process is finished," Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said in response to Trump's plans. "There is no way that there can be talks with the Americans."
Ashrawi's reaction was echoed by other Palestinian officials, leaders of Muslim-majority nations, and American commentators who argued that Trump's "dangerous" move would represent the final death blow to the peace process--which, as some argued, the U.S. was never genuinely committed to in the first place.
According to Phyllis Bennis, director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, numerous risks and dangers will result from Trump's decision, but ending "the role of the United States as an honest broker in sponsoring peace talks" is not one of them. The reason, she explains, is "because the U.S. never was an honest broker in Israel-Palestinian talks. It was always, as at least one longtime U.S. negotiator admitted, playing the role of Israel's lawyer. That hasn't changed either. There are no negotiations underway to be threatened with cancellation."
Bennis went on to add that Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel will have dramatic and deadly ramifications across the region, but the biggest price will be paid "as always by the Palestinians, who have been sold out by U.S. support for Israeli occupation and apartheid for more than 70 years."
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, said in a speech to Iranian officials on Wednesday that the U.S. announcement to make "Jerusalem...the capital of occupied Palestine is because of their incompetence and failure. The issue of Palestine today is at the top of the political issues for Muslims and everyone is obligated to work and struggle for the freedom and salvation of the people of Palestine."
Photos and videos posted to social media Tuesday night and early Wednesday offered a glimpse of the outrage that is expected to intensify as Trump's official announcement nears.
"People here compared the protests to a small ball of fire that would roll and turn into a much larger ball later on," said Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith, reporting from Gaza. "So there is real concern here that this announcement could spark much larger protests. The move by the U.S. seems to have further unified the Palestinians. Hamas and the smaller factions in Gaza have given their full support to Mahmoud Abbas' Fattah movement in their opposition to the U.S. move."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
With U.S. President Donald Trump set to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital on Wednesday--a move denounced by the Palestinian envoy to Britain as "declaration of war" against Muslims--thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Gaza and the West Bank overnight to burn American flags and images of Trump as part of "three days of rage" declared by the occupied territories' leaders.
"The peace process is finished. There is no way that there can be talks with the Americans."
--Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian officialThe protests came as the international community fiercely condemned Trump's expected announcement, which will also reportedly include an order for the State Department to begin constructing a new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.
"The peace process is finished," Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said in response to Trump's plans. "There is no way that there can be talks with the Americans."
Ashrawi's reaction was echoed by other Palestinian officials, leaders of Muslim-majority nations, and American commentators who argued that Trump's "dangerous" move would represent the final death blow to the peace process--which, as some argued, the U.S. was never genuinely committed to in the first place.
According to Phyllis Bennis, director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, numerous risks and dangers will result from Trump's decision, but ending "the role of the United States as an honest broker in sponsoring peace talks" is not one of them. The reason, she explains, is "because the U.S. never was an honest broker in Israel-Palestinian talks. It was always, as at least one longtime U.S. negotiator admitted, playing the role of Israel's lawyer. That hasn't changed either. There are no negotiations underway to be threatened with cancellation."
Bennis went on to add that Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel will have dramatic and deadly ramifications across the region, but the biggest price will be paid "as always by the Palestinians, who have been sold out by U.S. support for Israeli occupation and apartheid for more than 70 years."
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, said in a speech to Iranian officials on Wednesday that the U.S. announcement to make "Jerusalem...the capital of occupied Palestine is because of their incompetence and failure. The issue of Palestine today is at the top of the political issues for Muslims and everyone is obligated to work and struggle for the freedom and salvation of the people of Palestine."
Photos and videos posted to social media Tuesday night and early Wednesday offered a glimpse of the outrage that is expected to intensify as Trump's official announcement nears.
"People here compared the protests to a small ball of fire that would roll and turn into a much larger ball later on," said Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith, reporting from Gaza. "So there is real concern here that this announcement could spark much larger protests. The move by the U.S. seems to have further unified the Palestinians. Hamas and the smaller factions in Gaza have given their full support to Mahmoud Abbas' Fattah movement in their opposition to the U.S. move."
With U.S. President Donald Trump set to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital on Wednesday--a move denounced by the Palestinian envoy to Britain as "declaration of war" against Muslims--thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Gaza and the West Bank overnight to burn American flags and images of Trump as part of "three days of rage" declared by the occupied territories' leaders.
"The peace process is finished. There is no way that there can be talks with the Americans."
--Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian officialThe protests came as the international community fiercely condemned Trump's expected announcement, which will also reportedly include an order for the State Department to begin constructing a new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.
"The peace process is finished," Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said in response to Trump's plans. "There is no way that there can be talks with the Americans."
Ashrawi's reaction was echoed by other Palestinian officials, leaders of Muslim-majority nations, and American commentators who argued that Trump's "dangerous" move would represent the final death blow to the peace process--which, as some argued, the U.S. was never genuinely committed to in the first place.
According to Phyllis Bennis, director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, numerous risks and dangers will result from Trump's decision, but ending "the role of the United States as an honest broker in sponsoring peace talks" is not one of them. The reason, she explains, is "because the U.S. never was an honest broker in Israel-Palestinian talks. It was always, as at least one longtime U.S. negotiator admitted, playing the role of Israel's lawyer. That hasn't changed either. There are no negotiations underway to be threatened with cancellation."
Bennis went on to add that Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel will have dramatic and deadly ramifications across the region, but the biggest price will be paid "as always by the Palestinians, who have been sold out by U.S. support for Israeli occupation and apartheid for more than 70 years."
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, said in a speech to Iranian officials on Wednesday that the U.S. announcement to make "Jerusalem...the capital of occupied Palestine is because of their incompetence and failure. The issue of Palestine today is at the top of the political issues for Muslims and everyone is obligated to work and struggle for the freedom and salvation of the people of Palestine."
Photos and videos posted to social media Tuesday night and early Wednesday offered a glimpse of the outrage that is expected to intensify as Trump's official announcement nears.
"People here compared the protests to a small ball of fire that would roll and turn into a much larger ball later on," said Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith, reporting from Gaza. "So there is real concern here that this announcement could spark much larger protests. The move by the U.S. seems to have further unified the Palestinians. Hamas and the smaller factions in Gaza have given their full support to Mahmoud Abbas' Fattah movement in their opposition to the U.S. move."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.