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Trump’s Jerusalem statement violates international law: Scholars
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Show of support: Indonesians march outside the US embassy in Jakarta on Dec.17 to protest US President Donald Trump's recent recognition of Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel. Thousands attended the rally, which was organised by the country's top Islamic authority, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and backed by the government, as well as several other Islamic organizations. (Agence France -Presse/Adek Berry)
U
S President Donald Trump's statement that unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is a violation of international law, a Gadjah Mada University (UGM) scholar has said.
Middle East scholar Siti Mutiah Setiawan of the UGM School of Social and Political Sciences said on Thursday that the UN Security Council had placed Jerusalem under the supervision of the world body.
Siti said that the United Nations Resolution 181, which was issued in November 1947, established Jerusalem as a separate entity to be governed by an international regime and was agreed to be shared between Palestine and Israel.
“[Trump’s statement] cannot be tolerated. Otherwise, it will disrupt political stability in the Middle East, especially in Israel,” said Siti, who is an International Relations lecturer.
Siti expressed support for the Indonesian government, which had consistently pushed for Palestine's independence as stipulated in the 1945 Constitution. She hoped the government would stand jointly with members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in rejecting the US’s one-sided decision on Jerusalem.
“The government has to be able to push the OIC to issue a joint statement on the withdrawal of the US support for Israel,” she said.
Separately, UGM’s International Relations department head, Nur Rachmat Yuliantoro, said that Trump’s statement on Jerusalem was destructive and showed the US’s failure in playing a central role in the Israel-Palestine peace process.
“The US declaration has effectively made the situation in the Middle East become even more unstable,” he said. (ebf)
