The White House speaker said Trump didn’t sign it nor did he cancel it. On Wednesday president Trump is expected to announce something dramatic about US recognition of Jerusalem’s status so he may wait till then to discuss if the deferment is still in effect.
If and when the law will be implemented the US Secretary of State must within 30 days present the government’s plans to the house of Representative Chairman for implementation including cost estimates and a timetable of milestones till the implementation is completed. The Republicans still control both the House of Representatives and the Senate but if the president doesn’t decide something they won’t do it for him.
Arab Leaders and European leaders like Macron all joined a choir singing in unison the ‘great danger’ of moving the embassy or declaring Jerusalem Israel’s capital. The choir was conducted by Abu Mazen in what might be one of his last performances. The PA warned that “we will walk away from contacts with US officials.” Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, called any decision on the status of Jerusalem a “Muslim red line” which could cause countries to sever relations with Israel, and the EU said the decision could have “serious repercussions”.
Jared Kushner said that “The president’s going to make his decision” and White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said “in the coming days a declaration on the move would be made, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.”
Saudi Arabia’s ambassador Haled ben Salman said that Trump announcing anything about Jerusalem’s status without settling the Israel-PA dispute will harm the peace process and destabilize the region. (However, Iran is still seen as much more of a threat so it is probable that Saudi Arabia wouldn’t ‘punish’ Israel or the US if there was a change of status and/or the embassy is moved.)
The Jordanian foreign minister said these decisions on Jerusalem would have serious consequences and Mahmoud al Habash, Abu Mazen’s advisor says that “any change in status will cancel the peace process and the entire world will pay for it.”
It’s time for the world to stop being hostage to Palestinian threats and put them back in place in the ‘honor roll’ alongside Iran and North Korea.