A box of realism : la décision des États-Unis d’Amérique de reconnaître Jérusalem comme capitale d’Israël et d’y transférer leur ambassade

Abstract

On December 6th, 2017, Donald Trump, the president of the United States of America, recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and decided to move the American embassy in the Holy City. This decision marks a breaking point in the American policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and is illustrative of the American administration’s disregard for international law. Indeed, according to conventional and customary rules, and to numerous UN resolutions, Israel is precluded from claiming sovereignty over Jerusalem, which legal status is particularly complex. By recognizing such a claim, the US are violating the international law of occupation and of diplomacy, as well as the obligation not to recognize unlawful situations. But the unclear consequences of those violations encouraged the US to ignore them. This could eventually lead them to be condemned by the ICJ, to which the State of Palestine referred the case in late 2018.