Trump Is Not Alone: This Country Could Be First to Join U.S. in Moving Embassy to Jerusalem
Romania could become the first country to join President Donald Trump in moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, according to the head of the country's Parliament.
On Friday, Parliament chief Liviu Dragnea said, "I think Romania should seriously consider moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. We should think about it very seriously," according to The Times of Israel.
"All Israeli central institutions are in Jerusalem, and the ambassadors and embassy's staff are commuting from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem."
East Jerusalem hosts the holiest site in Judaism, the Temple Mount, and the third-holiest site in Islam, the Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary. Palestinians earmarked it as the capital of any future state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN that the Israeli government is in touch with a number of countries who are "seriously considering" making the same move as Trump, in spite of opposition from a swathe of Arab leaders.
"We're now talking to several countries who are seriously considering saying exactly the same thing as the United States and moving their embassies to Jerusalem," he said.
"I could tell you that, but I won't, because I want it to succeed, and I think there's a good chance it will."
Netanyahu, his cabinet and the Israeli far right have lauded the move as a recognition of reality on the ground: that Jerusalem has always been Israel's capital.
"I think what it does is finally recognize a historical truth," Netanyahu told CNN on Friday.
"Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel for 3,000 years, from the time of King David. It has been the capital of the state of Israel for 70 years, and it's about time that the United States said—and I'm glad they said it—'This is the capital and we recognize it,' and I think that's going to be followed by other countries."
However, the majority of the international community rejected Trump's move in a United Nations vote on Thursday, overwhelmingly supporting a nonbinding resolution that calls on him to reverse the move.
A total of 128 countries voted for the resolution, while nine voted against, 21 did not show up for the vote, and 35 abstained. Romania chose to abstain, breaking the European Union's consensus to vote in favor of the resolution and a negotiated divide of Jerusalem between the Israelis and the Palestinians as a shared capital.
Netanyahu, in separate comments, called the U.N. a "theater of the absurd." U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley tweeted that "65 countries refused to condemn the United States." The Israeli government said the number of countries who chose not to vote in favor of the resolution showed that opposition to Trump's move was not overwhelming.
For Palestinians, losing Jerusalem to Israel would strike a blow to their hopes of achieving a sovereign nation in the future. The decision riled Palestinian leaders and civilians alike, with fresh protests on Friday for another "Day of Rage" against the decision. Mahmoud Abbas also released a Christmas message that condemned Trump and his plans for the peace process.
Abbas wrote that the president's plan for peace was "insulting" to the "message of Jesus," and that Palestinians would never accept a peace agreement brokered by the U.S. while plans were in motion for the U.S. embassy to move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
