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U.S. Ended Palestinian Veto over Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's Capital

(U.S. State Department) U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said Friday that the decision to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Monday "creates an opportunity and a platform to proceed with a peace process on the basis of realities rather than fantasies, and we're fairly optimistic that this decision will ultimately create greater stability rather than less." "The United States makes its decisions on the basis of what's in the best interests of the United States, and whether it's the Jerusalem decision or the decision on Iran or - I could name 10 more - the analysis is what is in the best interests of the United States." "What the President saw was that the Palestinians essentially had a veto over the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, meaning that if you say we're only going to recognize Jerusalem as the capital when the Palestinians say it's okay, you're empowering the leverage in a way that's not helpful. And frankly, that card has been misplayed over many years....There's also a recognition that circumstances are changing, that the world is moving ahead and people have to kind of get on board before events overtake them."
2018-05-14 00:00:00
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