The Palestinians Need to Accept the Reality of Jerusalem and Israel

Israel isn’t going anywhere, and Jerusalem will always be its capital. Period.

Every head of state that visits Israel meets the prime minister in Jerusalem, not Tel Aviv, and has always done so. And while most of these world leaders won’t acknowledge as much publicly, Jerusalem has been the recognized capital of Israel for 3,000 years, since the time of King David. Nor is there one scrap of archaeological evidence to suggest otherwise.

During American presidential campaigns, candidates always acknowledge that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, but until President Trump broke that mold in 2017, they had never acted on that conviction upon winning the White House.

Trump’s decision to finally fulfill the promise of his predecessors to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was, as he himself stated, merely a recognition of reality. But it is a reality that for some reason the world cannot accept.

While people are suffering and dying in so many disasters, crises, and wars around the world, the United Nations seems far more concerned about which city the Jews declare their capital. Consider that the UN did nothing in response to the deaths of hundreds of thousands in Syria, including when government forces and their Russian allies killed innocent civilians. But when Trump recognized the simple fact that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital, suddenly the UN convened an emergency session to condemn the decision.

In fact, the entire Middle East continues to teeter on the brink of collapse. The only place that is stable is Israel, but it’s the one place that the UN deems worthy of regular condemnation.

But even that kind of irrational international backing hasn’t resulted in what the Palestinians claim to want. Since 1947, the UN has been seeking a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And for decades, Israel has accepted this premise for peace. But the Arabs have refused to accept the reality of the Jewish state. That is the true obstacle to peace, and the reason for it is that many are not truly seeking peace and coexistence, but rather remain committed to the Islamic quest of exterminating the Jews and their state.

And that sad reality was once again exposed with the publication of Trump’s new “deal of the century.” The proposal offers the Palestinians yet another opportunity to achieve a state of their own, but they have rejected it without even considering it.

But really, what can we expect from those representing the Palestinians? In addition to hating Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority remain in conflict with one another. Still, sooner or later they will have to come to terms with reality, because nothing is going to change the fact that Jerusalem belongs to Israel.

Rami Dabbas is a civil engineer by profession who writes for several media outlets. He is a pro-Israel advocate, peace campaigner, and political activist speaking out against terrorism.