The U.S. Recognition of Jerusalem as a Capital of Israel and the Movement of Its Embassy to Jerusalem: The Question of Jerusalem and Beyond

This Chapter tracks the recent developments linked with the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city and the movement of its embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem. It is an attempt to examine the legal impact of this action, provide a brief historical background of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and explore the status of Jerusalem. It gives an account of the law governing this subject and explores narratives, power, and the sovereignty question of this struggle through an international law lens. It shows the historical background of the current status to explore the profound impact of narratives on shaping the past, present, and future. This decision is controversial in many ways because Jerusalem is at the core of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Jerusalem’s sensitive status has been the key and obstacle to peace negotiations for decades. I will start by providing a brief background of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict followed by highlighting the unique case of Jerusalem and briefly understanding international law focusing on the annexation question. I will then turn to the implications of the formal recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, all of which will affect the final peace resolution that will include Jerusalem.