Washington/Tel Aviv (dpa) - 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."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.The move prompted protests in the Palestinian Territories amid calls for "days of rage" as well as in neighbouring Lebanon, which is home to a large Palestinian refugee population.Hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets, chanting slogans against Trump and in support of Jerusalem and burning cars tyres in the towns of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza Strip, across Gaza City and in the southern towns of Khan Younis and Rafah.The Christmas tree in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, in the Gaza Strip had been turned off in protest.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamim Netanyahu praised Trump‘s declaration as "an historic day," while Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas said the United States has "withdrawn" its role in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts."This decision reflects the president‘s commitment to an ancient but enduring truth, to fulfilling his promises and to advancing peace," Netanyahu said, noting "there is no peace that doesn‘t include Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel."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.Condemnations of the US policy change rained in before and after Trump‘s speech, including from regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as Egypt, Turkey, Germany, France the Vatican and others.The Gaza-based militant group Hamas blasted it and said that "the Palestinian people know how to respond appropriately to the degeneration of their feelings and holy sites."In Amman, State Minister for Media Affairs and government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said Jordan rejects the decision. In a statement, he asserted that "all unilateral measures aimed at imposing new facts on the ground are null and void."Egypt‘s al-Azhar, the world‘s foremost seat of Sunni Islamic learning, warned that the decision could provide militant groups with "new fuel to stoke wars of hatred and violence" across the world.Iran also warned it could lead to new spiral of violence in the Middle East."This irrational and provocative decision will lead to another intifada as well as more extremism and violence," a Foreign Ministry statement said.Trump however stressed that he still seeks peace and would support a two-state solution as part of a lasting peace agreement."The US remains deeply committed to helping facilitate a peace agreement that is acceptable to both sides," he said. "I intend to do everything in my power to help forge such an agreement."He said he wants a settlement that is "a great deal for the Israelis and a great deal for the Palestinians."US presidents from both political parties have refrained for decades from recognizing Jerusalem as Israel‘s capital, despite Israeli prodding, in an effort to remain neutral while the city‘s contested borders are determined in a long-hoped-for peace deal.Both the US consulate in Jerusalem and the German Foreign Ministry issued travel warnings for Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. Jerusalem is home to the al-Aqsa mosque, Islam‘s third-holiest site, and the location of the First and Second Temples, the most sacred site for Jews.Israel captured the eastern half of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed the territory in a move that was not internationally recognized. The city of more than 800,000 has remained in limbo ever since.Israel views all of Jerusalem as its "unified" capital, while the Palestinian government says that East Jerusalem, which contains the holy sites to Jews, Muslims, and Christians and around 300,000 Palestinian residents, must be the capital of a future Palestinian state.Speculation about the move had swirled as Trump faced a deadline to sign a waiver to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv in the face of a decades-old US law that requires the US to move the embassy to Jerusalem.At the UN, Secretary General Antonio Guterres told reporters: "There is no plan B" to the two-state solution."I have consistently spoken out against any unilateral measures that would jeopardize the prospect of peace for Israelis and Palestinians."
