Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that the U.S. still thinks there is "a very good opportunity for peace" between Israel and the Palestinians, even as President Donald Trump gets set to make the controversial declaration that the United States is recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.
In Brussels, Tillerson said Trump "is very committed to the Middle East peace process. He has a team he put into place. That team has been working very diligently." The top U.S. diplomat urged people to "listen carefully to the entirety" of Trump's speech.
Trump's expected announcement is drawing negative responses from Arab and Muslim states, who said the decision to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem could enflame tensions in the region and destroy U.S. efforts to reach an Arab-Israeli peace agreement.
Palestinians are calling for three "Days of Rage" to protest President Trump's plan
Reaction to move
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blasted Trump's decision as "wrong, illegitimate, provocative and very dangerous." He said Iran "will not tolerate a violation of Islamic sanctities. Muslims must stand united against this major plot."
Pope Francis expressed "profound concern" about the move, while Turkey called for a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to coordinate a response.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not mention the issue in his own public appearance Wednesday.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said his country has no plans to move its embassy from Tel Aviv.
"We view the reports we've heard with concern because we think that Jerusalem obviously should be part of the final settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians -- a negotiated settlement that we want to see," Johnson said.
The White House says the president is merely recognizing what it calls a historic and modern reality.
Ahead of his announcement, Trump telephoned five Middle East leaders Tuesday to brief them on his decision -- Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
A White House statement gave few details of the conversations except to say, "the leaders also discussed potential decisions regarding Jerusalem." It added that Trump reaffirmed his commitment to advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the importance of supporting those talks.
White House officials said late Tuesday Trump recognizes Jerusalem is not only the historic capital of the Jewish people, it has been the seat of the Israeli government since the founding of modern Israel in 1948.
Transfer plans
The officials say the president will order the State Department to start making plans to move the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv. They say the process will take years to find a site, secure funding, and construct a new building. Until then, Trump will sign the usual waiver postponing the relocation.
Under a law signed by President Bill Clinton in 1995, the embassy must be relocated to Jerusalem unless the president signs a waiver every six months stating that moving the embassy would threaten U.S. national security. Every president since Clinton has signed the waiver, including Trump.
"The United States does lease an area of land in West Jerusalem for a dollar a year," Randolph-Macon College history professor Michael Fischbach told VOA. "One thing would be, there’s a massive amount not only of construction that would have to occur, but then moving people and facilities from Tel Aviv."
Dennis Ross was the U.S. point man on the Middle East peace process under three presidents and worked with Israelis and Palestinians to reach the 1995 Interim Agreement. He said Tuesday Trump appears to be leaving a lot of room for both Israelis and Arabs to maneuver in the newly changed environment.
"It’s very important for the president to create a lot of 'handles' or 'hooks' for our friends to say, fundamentally, this does not change the ability of Palestinians, the Arabs who tend to see Jerusalem not just (as) a Palestinian issue but a regional issue, that their position, their concern, their claim still has to be part of the negotiation process and that hasn’t been pre-empted," Ross said. "That seems to me to be the key to this."
Some officials in Washington have expressed concern about the potential for a violent backlash against Israel and American interests in the region.
When asked if Tillerson is "on board" with a decision that could put U.S. citizens and troops in the Middle East at risk, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said the secretary "has made his positions clear to the White House, I think the Department of Defense has as well. But it is ultimately the president’s decision to make – he is in charge."
The U.S. Consulate General is restricting American government workers and their families from personal travel Wednesday in Jerusalem's Old City and West Bank, including Bethlehem and Jericho, amid widespread calls for demonstrations.
U.S. embassies worldwide also have been ordered to increase security.
State Department correspondent Cindy Saine and Victor Beattie in Washington contributed to this report.
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