Kerry: Moving US embassy to Jerusalem would cause an ‘explosion’

Outgoing US Secretary of State John Kerry warned US President-elect Donald Trump that moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would cause an “explosion” in the whole region, reports said.

The move promised by Trump would cause “an absolute explosion in the region, not just in the West Bank, and perhaps even in Israel itself, but throughout the region,” he said in an interview with the CBS news network on Friday.

He also warned that this would “have profound impact on the readiness of Jordan and Egypt to be able to be supportive and engaged with Israel as they are today.”

In addition, he warned that any alternative to the two-state solution “would be extraordinarily dangerous for Israel, our friend.”

Kerry explained: “The simple reality is you cannot be unitary – one state – with more non-Jews than Jews and remain a democracy or a Jewish state. It is impossible. You cannot do it.”

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas invited Trump to visit Bethlehem while also calling on him not to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.

“We call on you not to implement your statement,” he said, “because we consider it an aggressive statement when you say you want to move the embassy to Jerusalem.”

Chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat warned that the PLO would revoke recognising Israel if the US moved its embassy to Jerusalem.