Canada's embassy in Israel to remain in Tel Aviv: PM Trudeau
Ottawa, Dec 7 (IBNS): Though US President Donald Trump has triggered a firestorm by announcing that American embassy in Israel will be shifted to Jerusalem to recognize it as the capital of the Jewish nation, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country's embassy will continue to be in Tel Aviv, media reports said.
Trudeau, who is presently in China, told media: "We will not be moving Canada’s embassy from Tel Aviv."
Trump’s announcement of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has triggered Palestinian protests and clashes and a call for a new intifada (meaning Palestinian uprising against Israeli "occupation" of the West Bank and Gaza Strip), setting off fears of a fresh turmoil in the region.
Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, Chrystia Freeland, said on Wednesday that "the status of Jerusalem can be resolved only as part of a general settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli dispute".
"We are strongly committed to the goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, including the creation of a Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security with Israel," Freeland added.
The United States will officially recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as the first country in the world to do so since the foundation of the state in 1948.
Israel has welcomed the American decision but the Palestinians and Arab leaders have warned the move will jeopardise any Middle East peace process.
Israel considers Jerusalem as its capital city, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
U.S. allies, including France, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have reportedly urged Trump to avoid the extremely sensitive topic.
Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, has warned Donald Trump of the “dangerous consequences" if he went ahead with the move.
Reports said after President Donald Trump told Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday that he plans to move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the latter warned Trump of "the danger of taking any decision outside the context of a comprehensive solution that establishes a Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem".
"Jerusalem is the key to achieving peace and stability in the region and the world," the statement from Jordan said.
(Reporting by Suman Das)
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