Fmr. U.S. Ambassador to Israel: Jerusalem is Israel's capital
Former US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro sat down with 'The Jerusalem Post' to talk about the future of the peace process.
By JPOST.COM STAFF, ANNA AHRONHEIMUpdated: JANUARY 30, 2018 13:02Interview with Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro
Former US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro said that he agrees with US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel."I strongly agree with the decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. It is Israel's capital," Shapiro told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday at the INSS Conference in Tel Aviv."Treating Jerusalem as Israel's capital is something we do functionally anyway, and obviously west Jerusalem is going to remain Israeli and Israel's capital under any future circumstance."He clarified, however, that the manner in which Trump announced the decision was not helpful to the peace process."What was unfortunate, though," he said, "was that the president didn't place that decision in the broader context of the strategic objective that he is trying to achieve."Shapiro believes that Trump and his envoys Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt were working to promote was is essentially a two-state solution, although the administration does not use those words.According to Shapiro, the way in which Trump announced his Jerusalem decision was done outside the context of a larger peace plan. This made the statement "hard for the Palestinians to absorb," which led to a strong Palestinian overreaction.