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Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC

Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC

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In a statement issued 6 December, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed grave concern over President Trump’s announcement that the United States will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

“Such a step breaks with the longstanding international consensus, and almost seven decades of established American policy, that the status of Jerusalem remains to be settled,” stated Tveit. “It also pre-empts a negotiated resolution of this most difficult issue in any final peace agreement, which must be achieved between Israelis and Palestinians themselves.”

The WCC statement also shared and strongly affirmed the concerns expressed by His Majesty King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, that the measure will have serious implications for security and stability in the Middle East, will undermine the efforts of the American administration to resume the peace process and fuel the feelings of Palestinian Muslims and Christians alike.

“The United States must play a pivotal role in encouraging and supporting constructive negotiations between the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, if the moribund peace process is to be revived,” stated Tveit. “But the imposition of this decision on the status of Jerusalem will only lead to more disillusionment, increased tensions, and diminished hopes.”

Statement of the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC on US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital

Open letter to U.S. President Trump from the Thirteen Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in the Holy Land

Middle East Council of Churches Stands Together With Member Churches Opposing US Jerusalem Decision

Lutheran World Federation: The Middle East and the world need peace, not more violence

ACT Alliance expresses concern over US President’s statement on Jerusalem

National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA Opposes U.S. Decision to Declare Jerusalem as Capital of Israel

Pax Christi International calls upon UN Security Council members to strongly oppose the US government's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel

WCC statement on Jerusalem and Status Quo, 22 November 2017

WCC policy on Palestine and Israel 1948-2016