Trump calls Jerusalem Israeli capital
US President Donald Trump has announced that the US formally recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will begin the process of moving its embassy to the city, breaking with decades of US policy, Aljazeera reports.
In a much anticipated speech in Washington on Wednesday, Trump reversed decades of US policy in defiance of warnings from around the world that the gesture risked creating further unrest in the Middle East.
"I have determined that it is time to officially recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel," he said.
Trump said he ordered the state department to develop a plan to relocate the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
He said he was not taking position on any final status issues, including contested borders.
He also said he intended "to do everything" in his power to help forge a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.
In his response, Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said Trump "destroyed any possibility of peace" and was "pushing this region towards chaos [and] violence".