Protesters clash with Israeli police during a rally against the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, on May 14, 2018.(Xinhua/Guo Yu)
DEADLOCK OF PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI PEACE PROCESS LIKELY TO CONTINUE
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have not met in four years, with the peace process frozen.
In the immediate future, the embassy move is not expected to defrost the situation. Yet Trump believes the opposite is true.
After his December announcement, Trump said the contentious issue had now been taken "off the table" and would pave the way for renewed dialogue.
"Maybe it will pave the way ... for a positive process and for a negotiation where the Palestinians would have to accept the Jewish state and it doesn't negate the fact that they can have their own state and negotiate in East Jerusalem about the borders," said Amira Halperin, a research fellow at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
For now, Palestinian officials are refusing to meet with American officials.
Perhaps the prize that Israel has received in the form of the much coveted recognition of Jerusalem as its capital will come at a heavy price for the right-wing government currently in power.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may now be asked to make some major concessions to the Palestinians. These could be, for example, in the form of a freeze on settlement building.
But chances for the resumption of negotiations seem slim.
"Moving the embassy to Jerusalem after recognizing the city as the capital of Israel paves the way for the imposture of Israel's solutions to the conflict," said Hani al-Masri, director general of Masarat, the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies.
Americans may have lost their position as an honest broker between the two sides.
"Negotiations will resume at some point, the question is when," said Gerald Steinberg, a professor who specializes in politics and Middle Eastern affairs, and Israel, U.S. and Europe relations at the Bar-Ilan University in Israel.
"There is no mutual point of understanding, the embassy issue ... forces the Palestinians to become more realistic but that will take some time," Steinberg told Xinhua.
Time will tell whether the Trump strategy to strike what he called "the ultimate deal" will materialize.
