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Live blog update| Occupation

'Israel knows that, in the end, it can do what it wants'

Meron Rapoport, Middle East Eye contributor and former head of news at Haaertz, tells MEE that Trump’s decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem is good for the Palestinians because it will put the Israeli-Palestinian conflict back on the international agenda.

Here are some more of his thoughts:

  • The majority of Israelis don’t see the declaration as an end to the two-state solution largely because, for them, it is "clear and obvious" that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel
     
  • It is wrong for Israel to think that the entire international community holds the same opinions as Donald Trump - even though, as US president, he is currently the “leader of the free world”
     
  • Trump's decision will, however, embolden the motives of settlers as well as those on the right of Israeli politics. They will now do what they want, without worrying about what the international community does and thinks about Israeli actions and interests. “It doesn’t matter if Europe, the UN Security Council and everyone else rejects Israel’s plans," he said. "Israel knows that, in the end, it can do what it wants, even if it takes 20 years.”