Daily Brief: Hamas Calls for Uprising Over Jerusalem Recognition

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. December 7, 2017 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Hamas Calls for Uprising Over Jerusalem Recognition Backlash over U.S. President Donald J. Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital intensified Thursday, as the Gaza-based militant group Hamas said the U.S. move was a "war declaration against Palestinians" (Al Jazeera) and called for a new uprising. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has backed a general strike in East Jerusalem and the West Bank (DW). Clashes between Israeli soldiers and protesters broke out on Thursday (WaPo) in the city of Ramallah and other areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Trump's announcement, saying there would be no eventual peace with Palestinians (WSJ) that does not include Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The UN Security Council is expected to meet Friday to discuss the U.S. decision (Guardian).  ANALYSIS "The move would go against the very priorities that the administration has set for itself in the Middle East: fighting Islamist militancy and confronting Iranian influence. Jerusalem is the perfect issue for Iran and Islamist militants to use to mobilize support against the United States and those who endorse its policies," Shibley Telhami writes for the Brookings Institution. "Whatever the final municipal borders Israelis decide upon, whatever final municipal borders and arrangements might emerge from peace negotiations, whatever else Jerusalem may some day be (including a Palestinian capital), there is one thing that is absolutely certain: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel," CFR's Elliott Abrams writes for Newsweek.  "[Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's] government is already weak, owing partly to the public's belief that it is corrupt and ineffective and partly to the failure of diplomacy to deliver on the PA's promise of Palestinian independence. Trump's decision will further damage Abbas's legitimacy," Ghaith al-Omari writes for Foreign Affairs. This CFR Backgrounder discusses what's at stake with the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem. PACIFIC RIM U.S. to Restrict Visas for Cambodians The U.S. State Department announced it will restrict visas for some Cambodians over what it called "antidemocratic actions" (Reuters) by the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, in power for more than thirty years. It did not name individuals targeted by the restriction. CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick discusses the Cambodian ruling party's crackdown on its political opponents and civil society. MYANMAR: The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a resolution condemning the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims (VOA) in Myanmar, a move that could lead to a sanctions bill targeting the country's military. CFR's Alyssa Ayres looks at the world's fastest-growing humanitarian crisis.  SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Millions of Nepalis Vote in Historic Election Voters in southern Nepal head to the polls Thursday for the final round of parliamentary and provincial elections (VOA); citizens in the north cast their votes late last month. They are the first parliamentary elections since 1999 (Al Jazeera) and the first-ever vote for provincial assemblies. Brad Adams writes in Foreign Affairs that Nepal's election was decades in the making. SOUTH ASIA: Some seventeen million infants worldwide, including twelve million in South Asia, breath toxic air that puts them at risk of permanent brain damage (BBC), according to a new report from UNICEF.  MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA U.S. Issues Rare Rebuke Over Saudi Blockade The Trump administration has called on Saudi Arabia to immediately lift a blockade of Yemen (Bloomberg) to allow food and supplies to reach the millions of Yemeni people in desperate need of aid. Oxfam's Scott Paul discusses the Saudi blockade and famine in Yemen in this CFR interview.  SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Hundreds of Migrants Returned to Nigeria Hundreds of migrants attempting to reach Europe through Libya returned to Nigeria late Tuesday (Reuters) on a flight chartered by the country along with the European Union and the International Organization for Migration. The African Union says some fifteen thousand migrants will be returned to their home countries by the end of the year. LIBERIA: The Supreme Court is expected to rule Thursday on whether the country's electoral commission can move ahead with a presidential runoff (BBC) or if it must hold a rerun of the first round of voting following charges of election fraud. EUROPE Turkey's Erdogan on Historic Visit to Greece On Thursday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is making the first visit in sixty-five years to Greece (Guardian) by a Turkish head of state. He is expected to speak with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras about the refugee crisis and tensions over the Aegean Sea. RUSSIA: President Vladimir Putin, in office since 2000 as either prime minister or president, announced that he will seek another term (BBC) in next year's presidential election. A win could put him in office until 2024. AMERICAS Hernandez Declared Winner in Honduras Vote Recount President Juan Orlando Hernandez claimed a reelection victory (LAHT) after the electoral body announced he was ahead of challenger Salvador Nasralla following a partial recount of the late November vote. EU election observers said they support Nasralla's call to carry out a fuller recount. VENEZUELA: A U.S. subsidiary of the Chinese state oil company Sinopec is suing Venezuela's state oil company (FT) in a U.S. court for $23.7 million over a 2012 contract for which Sinopec says it has only been partly paid. UNITED STATES Trump Jr. Refuses Questions About Russia Meeting Donald Trump Jr. declined to answer questions on Wednesday from the House Intelligence Committee about conversations he had with President Trump regarding his 2016 meeting with Russian operatives (VOA). A former executive for the automaker Volkswagen received a seven-year prison sentence (BBC) on Wednesday after he confessed to helping the company use illegal software to cheat emissions tests.          Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org

Date: December 07, 2017 at 10:55PM