ATFP News Roundup December 6, 2017

News:

President Donald Trump will announce on Wednesday that the United States recognizesJerusalem as the capital of Israel and will move its embassy there, breaking with longtime U.S. policy and potentially threatening regional stability. (Reuters/Washington Post/AP/New York Times/The National/Foreign Policy/Times of Israel)

Hours before US Pres. Trump is expected to announce his decision to move the American embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognized the Israeli-occupied city as the official capital of Israel, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, in a last-ditch-effort, is reportedly pleading to the United Nations to stop the move. (Ma'an)

Palestinians seethed with anger and a sense of betrayal over U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize the disputed city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. (Reuters)

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Palestinian Authority Pres. Abbas agreed Wednesday that Palestinians had to stage a protest against an expected announcement the same evening by President Donald Trump stating that the US recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. (Ynet/Times of Israel)

Pres. Trump’s move to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on Wednesday could have deep repercussions across the region. (AP)

Jewish groups in the U.S. expressed deep concern and dismay following Tuesday evening's announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump that he intends to move the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. (Ha'aretz)

The patriarchs and heads of all the churches in Jerusalem on Wednesday delivered  a last-minute plea to US President Donald Trump, urging him not to change US policy toward Jerusalem for fear this could cause “irreparable harm.” (Times of Israel)

Pope Francis called on Wednesday for the status quo of Jerusalem to be respected and for “wisdom and prudence” to prevail to avoid further conflict, hours before the expected announcement that the United States is recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. (AP)

British PM Theresa May said she intends to speak to U.S. President Donald Trump about the status of Jerusalem, which she said should be determined as part of a settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. (Ha'aretz)

U.S. plans to move its Israel embassy to Jerusalem are a sign of incompetence and failure, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday. (Reuters)

China expressed concern on Wednesday about U.S. President Donald Trump's reported intention to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocate the U.S. Embassy to the ancient city, saying it could spark new hostility. (Reuters)

Palestinians protest U.S. embassy plan, as Israelis brace for violence. (New York Times)

The New York Times looks at why Jerusalem is contested. (New York Times)

As President Donald Trump prepares to address the issue of Jerusalem in a White House speech, the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem instructed U.S. officials not to travel to the Old City or West Bank in the face of reports that there will be protests. (JTA)

Sec. Tillerson touts ‘good opportunity’ for Mideast peace despite criticism of U.S. policy shift on Jerusalem. (Washington Post/Times of Israel)

IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot met with top military officers in the West Bank on Wednesdaymorning amid calls by groups for violence in the region over an expected American announcement recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. (Times of Israel)

US Vice President Mike Pence said on Wednesday he would visit Bethlehem despite the tense relations between Palestine and the United States. (PNN)

Israeli army forces have temporarily closed off the entrance to a Jenin-area town in the northern occupied West Bank, allegedly in response to shots fired at an Israeli settler bus near the village. (Ma'an)

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that would reduce U.S. funding for the Palestinians unless their official bodies stop subsidizing families of killers of Israelis. (JTA)

France accused the Syrian government on Wednesday of obstructing U.N.-led peace talks with its refusal to return to Geneva and called on Russia not to shirk its responsibilities to get Damascus to the negotiating table. (Reuters)

Talks on ending the six-year war in Syria resumed on Wednesday with no sign of President Bashar al-Assad's delegation returning to the negotiations in Geneva after they walked out last week. (Reuters)

Commentary:

The New York Times says moving the American embassy to Jerusalem is almost certain to anger the Palestinians and most Arab nations. (New York Times)

Emma Green says President Trump’s announcement on the status of the holy city may be perceived as a threat to sacred space—and could spark a crisis across the Middle East. (The Atlantic)

H.A. Hellyer explains why Pres. Trump's decision on Jerusalem changes very little at all. (The National)

Dana H. Allin and Steven N. Simon say the most basic requirement in the Holy Land is to do no harm, thus following in the tradition of past presidents. (Foreign Affairs)

Nir Hasson says over 300,000 Palestinians currently live in Jerusalem without citizenship rights, a situation the U.S. move could inadvertently force Israel to address. (Ha'aretz)

Ha'aretz says instead of unilateral declarations favoring one side, the goal must be  West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state. (Ha'aretz)

Avi Issacharoff says Pres. Abbas is leading the charge against American plans to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the embassy; if violence ensues, it will have stemmed from the top. (Times of Israel)

David Greene explains why the world doesn’t recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. (Ha'aretz)

Shmuel Rosner says of course Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. (New York Times)

Eliora Katz makes the Zionist case against an Embassy move. (Wall Street Journal)

Bradley Burston says the biggest loser in Pres. Trump's high-stakes Jerusalem embassy decision is PM Netanyahu. (Ha'aretz) 

Akiva Eldar asks if settlers could stay in a future Palestinian state. (Al-Monitor)

Thomas Friedman says obsession with Iran is driving the Mideast and the U.S.c crazy. (New York Times)