Netanyahu promises to keep Jerusalem ‘united’ under Israeli control
Prime Minister Netanyahu convened a meeting of his cabinet in a predominantly Palestinian neighbourhood, as Israel celebrated Jerusalem Day, promising that the ancient city would remain under Israel’s control.
“We will keep Jerusalem united, whole, and under Israeli sovereignty,” Netanyahu said on the Israeli holiday, which celebrates Israel’s taking of East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, speaking from East Jerusalem’s Silwan.
At the meeting, the government approved a resolution to encourage and financially support countries in establishing or relocating their embassies to Jerusalem, according to a joint statement by Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and the minister for Jerusalem affairs and Jewish heritage, Meir Porush.
In 1967, Israel annexed East Jerusalem, home to the city’s most sensitive holy sites, in a move that is not internationally recognized. The Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state.
“Jerusalem, our eternal capital, was reunited 58 years ago in the Six-Day War. It will never be divided again,” Netanyahu said.
Trump-Netanyahu relationship under the microscope over Gaza war
Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli diplomat and columnist for the Independent newspaper, says Netanyahu has been forced into “a very tight corner, and there’s no way out”.
He said that domestic and international pressure continues to rise on Israel’s leader, but the key question is whether he will soon feel that pressure from US President Donald Trump. Pinkas noted that Israeli media picked up anonymous sources saying that Trump told Netanyahu to “end the war immediately”.
Netanyahu later issued a video statement saying he expected to deliver news on the Gaza captives “either today or tomorrow”.
“The Israeli negotiating team divulged to the media they have no idea what he’s talking about. They know of no progress on the talks. So I don’t think we’re more knowledgeable now than a day ago,” said Pinkas.
But he said Trump could use several methods if he truly wants Israel to halt the Gaza assault.
“He could pick up the phone and say to Netanyahu, ‘Enough is enough, you’re going to stop this war in the next 48 hours.’ The other level is: Trump takes it public. If that doesn’t work, he could say ‘There’s going to be a Security Council resolution that I won’t veto.'”
