News Analysis: Trump's Jerusalem move expected to inflame Middle East, end two-state solution

AMMAN, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is expected to further inflame the Middle East and end hopes for a two-state solution, experts said Wednesday.

Jordan, which signed a peace deal with Israel in 1994, has been exerting intensified efforts to highlight the dangers of such a step if announced by the U.S. administration.

The country called for an emergency meeting at the level of the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to warn of the serious consequences of such a move that would end a decades-long U.S. policy towards the issue.

"If Trump goes ahead with the decision, I expect that we will witness more chaos in the region...The issue of Jerusalem is of concern not only to the Palestinians but the whole Arabs and Muslims," Mohammad Shboul, an independent political analyst, told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Stressing that Jordan is directly involved in the Palestinian issue, he said Jordan is the custodian of the holy Islamic and Christian sites in East Jerusalem, which envisages as the future capital of the Palestinian state.

"The relocation of the embassy means an end to the two-state solution, which stipulates the creation of an independent Palestinian state that lives side by side with Israel," said Al Shboul.

"Jordan will continue to exert efforts at all fronts to face the decision," said the analyst.

Another political analyst, who preferred anonymity, said the U.S. decision is in violation of the international resolutions and UN charters that consider East Jerusalem, which was annexed by Israel in 1967, as an occupied territory.

"Arabs, Muslims, the EU and international regional powers have repeatedly stressed their stances that call for negotiated solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and that the fate of Jerusalem should be decided by talks between the two sides," said the analyst, adding that the U.S. move could put an end to the two-state solution.

The analyst stressed that the Arabs renewed commitment to peace with Israel when they adopted the 2002 Arab peace initiative, which offered Israel normal ties with the Arab world in return for their withdrawal from territories it occupied in 1967.

"This is not only the job of Jordan but of all countries in the Arab and Islamic world...this is a serious issue that could inflame more tension in the region as such steps can be used by extremists and radical groups to incite more violence," said the analyst.

In a column published in Ad Dustour political daily Wednesday, Oraib Al Rintawi, head of Al Quds Center for Political Studies, said that Jordan, which is directly involved in the issue, is not the sole player and concerned party in the issue of Jerusalem.

"It is unfair to make Jordan tolerate the responsibility alone especially in light of the presence of such a U.S. administration whose stances are fickle," said Rintawi.

There is a need for swift and coordinated Arab stances to face such a decision, said Rintawi, adding that developments in the Arab world and other issues should not overshadow the Palestinian issue at this stage.

"Jordan's diplomacy can play a greater role due to continued coordination with the Palestinian Authority," said Rintawi, adding that lobbying all sides including China, Russia, the EU and non-aligned countries is crucial at this stage to stop such a measure by the U.S..

"The Palestinians including the Palestinian Authority, the activists and the factions in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip need to be ready to face any provocative measure," he said.

"With no freedom and independence to Palestine, there is no security and stability in the Middle East," said Rintawi. Enditem