CAP’s Kelly Magsamen Says Move to Recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital Will Not Advance Peace Efforts
Washington, D.C. — Today, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and begin the process of moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In response, Kelly Magsamen, vice president for National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
The president’s announcement breaks with decades of bipartisan U.S. policy on this issue and will not advance efforts to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The move comes without any clarity from the Trump administration about how it fits in with a broader Middle East strategy, and it also comes at a time when the Trump administration is undercutting the important tools of U.S. diplomacy at the State Department.
CAP has worked for more than a decade on efforts to advance Middle East peace and a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through its research and analysis. Some of the key recent analysis includes:
- A Practical Plan on the Israeli-Palestinian Front by Mara Rudman and Brian Katulis
- Strengthening the Economy to Keep the Two-State Solution Viable by Hardin Lang and Rudy deLeon
- Leveraging U.S. Power in the Middle East by the CAP Middle East Team
- Trump’s First 100 Days in the Middle East by Daniel Benaim
The following CAP National Security and International Policy experts are available for comment. To schedule an interview, contact Sam Hananel at 202.478.6327 or shananel@americanprogress.org.
Kelly Magsamen, CAP’s vice president for National Security and International Policy
Brian Katulis, senior fellow
Rudy deLeon, senior fellow
Alia Awadallah, research associate
Daniel Benaim, senior fellow