US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman has criticized Palestinian reaction to President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the Middle Eastern country.
He described the response as provocative, unnecessary, and “anti-Semitic.”
Friedman, who strongly supported the US policy shift regarding the capital, said the Palestinians were “largely emotional” and “unfortunately overreacted.”
He said Trump had made clear that the US was “not taking a position on any final status issues, including the specific boundaries of the Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem.”
The Palestinian response was “ugly, needlessly provocative and anti-Semitic,” Friedman told the Jerusalem Post in an interview published Thursday.
“Israel has made it clear that they will not engage under the sponsorship of any other nation.
“You cannot clap with one hand. Moreover, only the United States has the regional credibility to bring forward a historic peace agreement. There is no path around the United States,” he declared.
Friedman said he felt that US Jews, who largely didn’t vote for Trump in the presidential elections, now owed the president their support due to his recognition of Jerusalem.
“I firmly believe that American Jews of all streams owe the president an enormous debt of gratitude for his historic decision in favor of Jerusalem.
“While the president didn’t reach his decision in order to curry favor with any constituency, he certainly deserves all the thanks that he has received.”
Trump, Friedman noted, will be remembered as “as one of Israel’s greatest friends.”
“We must all recognize and applaud the courage and moral clarity displayed by the president in affirming, against the wishes of so many other nations, the centrality of Jerusalem to Israel and the Jewish people,” the envoy added.
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