The decision by President Trump to follow through on his promise does not sit well with a vast majority of the international community, who believe that the final status of Jerusalem can only be decided through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, even though the common position of the international community already ‘unofficially’ recognizes West Jerusalem as Israeli and East Jerusalem as Palestinian. In the latest criticism of President Trump’s decision, his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron asserted that the American move does not help resolving the decades old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, nor does it help with the situation “in terms of security.” “When this was done (the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel), I told my friend Donald Trump, the president of the United States of America, I think that the announcement- We say to each other that we are friends – which is true – and we usually say this before talking about something over which we disagree. When he announced unilaterally the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, I think it didn’t help with resolving the conflict and the situation. I don’t even think it helped with the situation in terms of security,” French President Macron said.
President Macron’s comments were made in an address to a gala dinner event for CRIF, which is France’s umbrella group for Jewish organizations. While the French leader voiced the official position of Paris on the matter, the President of the Jewish umbrella organization urged Macron to change this position, which is perceived by most Jewish organizations as a historic wrong. “If you’ll allow me, Mr. President, to make this wish for your next trip to Israel. That France recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” CRIF President Francis Kalifat said.