'God is weeping over Donald Trump': Archbishop Tutu on Jerusalem move
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond
Tutu has condemned US President Donald Trump's decision to declare Jerusalem
as the capital of Israel.
“Those who claim divine rights for themselves to physical property on earth
are false prophets,” said Tutu.
“God is weeping over President Donald Trump's inflammatory and discriminatory
recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It is our responsibility to
tell Mr Trump that he is wrong,” he added.
Meanwhile, The Israeli Embassy in Pretoria has welcomed Trump's decision.
The embassy’s spokesperson said it’s a step closer towards peace
negotiations.
Deputy Head of Mission of Israel to South Africa, Ayellet Black, said: “Well
ever since 1948, with a UN protection plan which we are now celebrating 70 years
since the UN protection plan, Israel has always said Yes. It has said yes to the
protection plan, it has said yes to every negotiation that came further while
the Palestinian have continuously rejected such a notion. So here we are saying
that this is the realisation of the obvious and that we are hoping that it will
serve as a catalyst to re-install peace negotiations, to say we can sit at the
table.”
“The obvious has already been put in place, the cards are on the table let’s
have a conversation. Israel has always been open to dialogue and does not show
away from a difficult conversation and we’ve placed many moves in the past to
show that we are able to have long lasting peace agreements,” Black added.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) said it was
in favour of a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel.
“South Africa maintains a principled position that unilateralism threatens
the global balance of power, security and stability in a relatively volatile
environment. International cooperation, dialogue and consultation is therefore critical to ensure peaceful interaction among
states,” Dirco said in a statement.
“South Africa is deeply concerned that unilateral action by the United States
undermines progress that has been registered within the context of
Middle East Peace Process (MEPP). We believe that the MEPP seeks to secure a
lasting sustainable peace between the State of Israel and the State of
Palestine. The decision to relocate the US Embassy to East Jerusalem is
regrettable and is not constructive in advancing a sustainable solution in the
MEPP,” it added.
Source: eNCA
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