Trump 's New Israel Policy Could Make the World a Lot More Dangerous
Left Image: (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images). Right Image: Palestinian protesters burn a poster of  US President Donald Trump  and a representation of a US flag during a protest against  Trump 's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital  in the southern Gaza Strip December 13  2017. Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Last week   President Donald Trump  announced that the United States now recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel  and will soon move its embassy to that city from Tel Aviv. This stance has been implicite US policy since Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act in 1995  and Israel has long had control of the city  and kept most of its government facilities there. But because Palestinians claim Eastern Jerusalem as their capital  and Arabs and Muslims the world over generally view the status of the city as a touchstone issue  most countries do not recognize the full city as Israelâs capital. Likewise  the last three American presidential administrations have quietly delayed moving the embassy there.
Trumpâs proclamation didnât change anything on the ground. That same day  in fact   he  quietly signed a memo delaying official action on the embassy for at least six months  and probably longer. But  his  abstract recognition of Israeli control of the city and brash statement of intent read as a clear signal that the administration may not respect the Palestinian quest for sovereignty. And as anyone with a modicum of knowledge about the region might have predicted  it sparked a wave of protests across the world resulting in many injuries and at least four reported deaths in Palestine.
To gauge how seriously we should be concerned about elevated terrorist threats in the wake of  Trump âs decision  VICE spoke to Thomas Sanderson  an expert on terrorism and terrorist threats at the Center for Strategic and International Studies with almost two decades of experience. Hereâs what we talked about.
VICE: When you first heard  Trump  was going to make this announcement  what did you see as the most immediate outcome?
I think the president made the declaration for short-term political gain  knowing the long-term execution of this policy would be so far down the road that the cost of making the declaration would not be too sharp at this point. There is a cost to it  the further tarnishing of the US reputation. But  Trump  knows thatâs many years off  and could be reversed by the next president.
Left Image: (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images). Right Image: Palestinian protesters burn a poster of  US President Donald Trump  and a representation of a US flag during a protest against  Trump 's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital  in the southern Gaza Strip December 13  2017. Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Last week   President Donald Trump  announced that the United States now recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel  and will soon move its embassy to that city from Tel Aviv. This stance has been implicite US policy since Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act in 1995  and Israel has long had control of the city  and kept most of its government facilities there. But because Palestinians claim Eastern Jerusalem as their capital  and Arabs and Muslims the world over generally view the status of the city as a touchstone issue  most countries do not recognize the full city as Israelâs capital. Likewise  the last three American presidential administrations have quietly delayed moving the embassy there.
Trumpâs proclamation didnât change anything on the ground. That same day  in fact   he  quietly signed a memo delaying official action on the embassy for at least six months  and probably longer. But  his  abstract recognition of Israeli control of the city and brash statement of intent read as a clear signal that the administration may not respect the Palestinian quest for sovereignty. And as anyone with a modicum of knowledge about the region might have predicted  it sparked a wave of protests across the world resulting in many injuries and at least four reported deaths in Palestine.
To gauge how seriously we should be concerned about elevated terrorist threats in the wake of  [TGT]  âs decision  VICE spoke to Thomas Sanderson  an expert on terrorism and terrorist threats at the Center for Strategic and International Studies with almost two decades of experience. Hereâs what we talked about.
VICE: When you first heard   [TGT] was going to make this announcement  what did you see as the most immediate outcome?
I think the president made the declaration for short-term political gain  knowing the long-term execution of this policy would be so far down the road that the cost of making the declaration would not be too sharp at this point. There is a cost to it  the further tarnishing of the US reputation. But   [TGT] knows thatâs many years off  and could be reversed by the next president.