WASHINGTON — President Trump's plan to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel ran into mounting resistance abroad on Monday, with France's president, Emmanuel Macron, warning him it was a bad idea.
Mr. Macron joined leaders from Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and the Arab League in speaking out against the move, which would overturn decades of American policy. People briefed on the deliberations said Mr. Trump planned to address the issue in a speech on Wednesday, but they cautioned he could still change course.
In a phone call with the president, Mr. Macron "expressed his concern with the possibility that the United States might unilaterally recognize Jerusalem as capital of the State of Israel," according to a statement issued by the French government.
"Mr. Macron," the statement said, "reaffirmed that the status of Jerusalem must be resolved through peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, and particularly those relating to the establishment of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security with Jerusalem as their capital."
American presidents have also long taken the view that Jerusalem's status needed to be worked out by two parties. But Mr. Trump promised during the 2016 presidential campaign to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
Continue reading the main story
Under a law passed in 1995, the president has to sign a national security waiver every six months to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv, and that deadline expired Monday. The White House said Mr. Trump took no action on Monday, but would announce his decision soon.
"The president has been clear on this issue from the get-go that it's not a matter of if, but a matter of when," the deputy press secretary, Hogan Gidley, told reporters.
Mr. Trump, officials said, is expected to sign the waiver but couple it with recognition of Jerusalem as the capital — a move that the White House hopes will mollify evangelicals and other staunchly pro-Israel supporters.
Mr. Macron's objections are hardly a surprise. European leaders agree that Jerusalem's status should be decided in a peace negotiation. France nourishes its own ambitions as a peacemaker: It played host to a Middle East peace conference shortly before Mr. Trump took office.
One influential country that has not weighed in on the possible shift in American policy is Saudi Arabia. That is surprising given that Jerusalem is home to the Aqsa Mosque, and that the Saudi king holds the title of custodian of Islam's two other holiest mosques, in Mecca and Medina.
"The silence from Riyadh is deafening," said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East peace negotiator now at the Wilson Center. "Either they know the president won't issue a statement or they're privy to some initiative, of which the Jerusalem gambit is a part."
The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is close to Mr. Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who is running the administration's peace initiative. Diplomats in the region have been buzzing that the crown prince recently presented the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, with the outlines of an American plan — something the Saudis and the White House deny.
Mr. Macron has also developed a good relationship with Mr. Trump, particularly since he invited the president to Paris last July for Bastille Day celebrations. But the two leaders are far apart on issues like climate change and the Iran nuclear deal.
Some experts say Mr. Trump will find it impossible to square his campaign promise with his goal of brokering the "ultimate deal" between Israelis and Palestinians.
"You can't either move the embassy or even declare Jerusalem the capital without driving the Palestinians away from the negotiating table, and winning them the support of the Arabs in doing so," said Daniel C. Kurtzer, a former American ambassador to Israel and Egypt.
Continue reading the main story
