Arab World Pundits Fume Over Trump’s Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital

trump israel visit
AP/Oded Balilty
Ali Waked

TEL AVIV — Reacting on social media, commentators across the Arab world responded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel with a mix of outrage, conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic statements.

“1917 – the cursed Balfour Declaration, 2017 – the cursed Trump declaration,” wrote Moussa al-Omar, a Syrian opposition journalist.

“A Palestinian child sits at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem; he’s the one who decides,” tweeted Palestinian activist Fouad Khuffash. “And he’s the one taken into consideration by the occupation, but Arab leaders are half-men with no values.”

“Anger, hurt, frustration – that’s what I feel after the words of this racist that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jews,” wrote Egyptian journalist Farrag Ismail. “The Judaization of Jerusalem by the president of the greatest country in the world surpasses the catastrophic nature and results of the Balfour Declaration that founded that diabolical entity.”

“When Trump says that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jews, he effectively lays the foundation for a conflict based on religion,” asserted Egyptian journalist Ayman al-Sayyad. “This is the embodiment of extremism.”

“Feel the anger, let it out, this is Jerusalem. Allah. I feel a tremendous suffocation,” stated Saudi analyst Jamal Khashoggi.

“The language of the ‘harsh’ condemnations of the Arab countries directed at Trump sound more like the analysis of a journalist instead of government responses,” tweeted Palestinian journalist Dima al-Khatib. “They warn and protest against it. The governments need to answer just one question: What do they intend to do? The emphasis is on ‘do.'”

“Trump clearly defies his allies and I wonder, how are the Zionist Arabs now?” asked Iraqi journalist Mukdad Humaidan.

https://twitter.com/mukdadhumaidan2/status/938483557781078017

In another tweet, Humaidan attacked the Iranians “and as for the Jerusalem brigades (of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard commanded by Qassem Suleimani), what do they feel when Jerusalem becomes the capital of Israel. … Where are they?? We don’t hear from them.”

https://twitter.com/mukdadhumaidan2/status/938487134549405697

“Thanks Mr. Trump,” tweeted Jordanian-Palestinian analyst Yasser Zaatreh. “You’ve helped reveal the truth that any smart person already knew, that there’s no solution with the (Zionist) entity. And those who deceived themselves for decades need to wake up. The occupation won’t be removed without resistance.”

“Now all the voices who accuse the Arabs and Muslims of extremism and hate – now they have to shut up. The extremism is created in Washington and Tel Aviv,” wrote Ahmad bin Saud, a Saudi political science lecturer. “Trump’s decision is evidence of the hereditary hate since the Middle Ages and the Crusades.”

“The Zionist entity is an occupier and should be treated as such,” wrote Egyptian soccer star Muhamad Abou Treiqa. “It has no capital and no land. Jerusalem is Islamic and Arab and so is all the land.”

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