The inexperienced Trump administration is committing a major mistake based on three wrong assumptions. The consequences of this tinkering with a sensitive issue will be bad for Israelis, Palestinians and Americans – and in the end, it will not work.
The first assumption is based on the current honeymoon between Washington and Saudi Arabia. President Trump seems to think that because Riyadh has been forthcoming on issues like Iran, it will be as forthcoming in making concessions when it comes to Jerusalem.
This wrongly assumes that Jerusalem is simply a Palestinian issue. It is a much bigger issue.
As the heart of the Palestinian struggle, Jerusalem symbolizes the Arab cause more than any other city. Since the beginning of the nineteenth century, the most popular Arab slogan was Al Quds Arabia (“Jerusalem is Arab”). The Arab League met this week to reconfirm the attachment of all Arabs, and not just Palestinians, to the holy city.
