For the past two hundred years the Palestinian and Israeli people have been involved within a conflict filled with bloodshed, aggression, and war. Through the religions of Judaism and Islam, both believe their god, the same god, blessed them with holy land, the same land. This has brought on both parties to militarize and actively peruse the land given to them as a birthright. The Jewish armed forces had the upper hand due to better strategy and funds. Due to the death of almost the entire Jewish population, Europe and the U.S. backed them in all their ventures, especially the war of 1948. After the bulk of the war against Palestine was over, the Jewish military and police continued to consume land while oppressing the Palestinian people. The Jewish Army led massacres, raids, and created an accepting nature of belittling the Palestinian people. Now, the Jewish government wants to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, the city both groups have possessive qualities toward. The current embassy in Tel Aviv is perfectly functional, but certain promises to Israel and their pride drives them to Israel. Palestine and the Arab countries surrounding the region have reassured the violent nature they will respond to the move. This violence would devastate even more holy land, creating no real solution. The only solution, is a two-state solution, with both parties holding a capital in the coveted Jerusalem. For civility sake, the Jewish government owes the Palestinian nation a gesture of peace. For mistreatment and to avoid pointless violence, the U.S. embassy should remain in Tel Aviv. Now, the Jewish government needs to step down, own up to the aggression they have committed, disregard the legality of the situation, and make a concrete deal. 

From the creation of the State of Israel, “Palestinians were subject to isolation from their Arab environment and to Israel’s ethnic policies of domination” (Rouhana 6). The Palestinian people have had a long and proud history filled with impressive accomplishments and millenniums of cultural growth. After the Zionist colonization in the Palestinian homeland, events have continuously decayed for the once proud and strong nation. Written in 2011, this book created by Brown and Cornell top Professors, describes the bloody truth of the Israeli Government. The bias leans toward the support of the suppressed people, but the facts are undeniable creating uneasy tension around the Israelites’. The history of the Jewish and Palestinian people is set in stone; this information will be sustainable forever. The history backs up the claim that Israel needs to back it up.  In 1948, the Palestinian people were not at their peak, but the decay the next fifty years brings this once great nation destroys the vitality of the Palestinians. Most of the violence is located within Palestinian held land, in Gaza and the West Bank. These are the only remaining Palestinians to not have their home overrun by the bold Zionist civilization. When Israel had a firm grip on the region in 1948 “hundreds of thousands of Arabs fled… awaiting the day when they could return to their homeland” (Guy 3). This event is referred to as “al-Nakba” or “The Cataclysm”, and has been a major root cause for the current aggression. American’s shy away at worlds like Gaza and West Bank, because they are associated with missiles and terror organizations like Hamas. It does not look great that the leading organization for the fight against Israel launches missiles across the border, while condemning America, but main stream media does not cover everything. 

Much of the population rejects the extremists’ in the region responsible for the highly-publicized terror attacks against Israel and their own people. Sadly, Palestinians have become associated with aggression and terrorism in the eyes of the World, instead of the peaceful nature 90 percent of the population portrays. Palestinian’s are using nonviolence to end the occupation and build peace within the region. A small village banded together in peaceful protest to push back Israel from cutting off supplies essential to life. This is not the first time they have tried to starve people out of their homes. How this crime continues to happen year from year to year is sick. Perceptions and false reporting in the west bank has curbed a real peace resolution despite the peoples’ peaceful protest. The Palestinian people have been beat down and dismissed for far too long, they deserve international recognition. Ms. Bacha, the speaker for a Ted talk called “Pay Attention to Nonviolence”, illustrates the Israel Government as power hungry who wants to push the Palestinians’ out of the picture. She points out that major media did not pick up this cause, portraying violence as the only way to address their struggle within the international community. This proves that people in the region want to move toward peace, not radical movements aiming to hurt people. The road to peace for these two proud groups of people lies within a two-capital system, with both parties equally represented. Rebuilding Palestine and Israel in a combined nonviolent way will unite the two people who have been in conflict for sixty plus years. Opposition to the Palestinian cause points out the legal standing of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the violent nature of the Palestinians’, and the fact they lost the war against Israel. 

Many international parties believe the Palestinian cause to be a lost one, especially after the U.S. passed a law approving Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and the overwhelming strength of Israel politically and in a military aspect. A prominent Saudi progressive shines light about the illegitimate Palestinian cause, and how the U.S. backed Israel will prevail in the region. He argues the international community “will not forget how extremists exploited the Palestinian tragedy to serve opportunistic regimes” (Al-Rashed 1). Al-Rashed shows that Europe and America disregard the Palestinian cause, but does not mention the resounding support Palestine holds in the region. Regardless of what the international community wants, the legality of the move is already law, it is just a matter of time until the move finally does happen. The United States power in the international community dominates that of Palestine’s, creating a losing battle for their cause. Israel has been a steadfast ally to the United States, so they back their cause usually. The author emphasizes that the Palestinian cause is a lost one that needs to be let go to promote future growth. This shows Middle Eastern supporters of the move, giving real credibility to an inevitable move. However, the bill approving Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has a loop hole. If the president deems the region is experiencing political unrest, they can push the move for another four years. Every single president for the past four terms have signed this bill because they understand the dangers of the move. Even Al-Rashed admitted the surprising support of the Palestinian cause by recent presidents; “Congress issued a binding order… but successive [American] presidents worked to thwart the move” (Al-Rashed 3). This move might not be as inevitable as the opposition portrays it as. Another author illustrates the responsibilities America holds in the international community when it comes to supporting our allies. America can accomplish this goal by “moving the embassy would send a strong signal to Israel…the United States will once again stand by its allies” (Hass 2). He notes the never-ending aggression of the Palestinian people as a permeate barrier for peace in the region. Through the violence, a strong hand in the region will resolve these issues, not submission, “a Palestinian society that really wants peace will… stop expecting more concessions from Israel of the global community” (Hass 4). As a seasoned veteran within the cabinet and White House, Mr. Hass’s viewpoints are highly respected within the conservative party. Respectively, the Palestinian cause has support from the U.N. and American advocates on both sides of the government. As Israel fights for the move, the Palestinian government gains support in the U.N. through Arab neighbors. Giving up is not in the Palestinian vocabulary, and they will not rest until the two-state resolution is resolved. 

When considering the embassy move, the opinions of influential U.S. officials and the ethical outlook on a decision should sway you in the direction of this argument. An ethical outlook on the situation brings the concept of morality into the equation. The current violence between Palestine and Israel will gain momentum in response to the Embassy move; therefore, the ethical decision would be to keep the functioning Embassy right where it is. Koplpw insists that the move “will not necessarily result in chaos in Jerusalem, but there is no question that it will result in chaos” (Koplow 1) creating enough reason to keep the embassy in place. This opinion piece written on January 12, 2017 gives a realistic peacekeeping viewpoint that should be highly respected. This bias to promote peace should be the only bias, due to the copious bloodshed of the past. If the goal is neutralization, minimizing power grabbing moves by Israel should do the job. The move will not be productive in any manner, rather it will cause pain so is “moving the embassy worth even one American, Israeli, or Palestinian life” (Koplow 5). No lost life can be constituted as fair when the cause is pointless. This region has experienced never-ending violence for so long that they deserve the respect peace will bring them. 

The opinions of officials who influence decisions and the history of the United States should be heavily considered when deciding which way to fall. Our Secretary of State, John Kerry, spent the remainder of his days in office convincing people to keep the embassy where it is. He understands that “Arab and European allies have warned the incoming administration that the move could unleash further violence, undermine the peace process, damage US standing in the Middle East” (Labott 2). The article references numerous current violence incidents within the region that does not need to grow due to this change. These two CNN journalists dealing with foreign affairs and national security shine a light on the past administration’s views of the situation. Everyone who is involved directly with the conflict knows that "you'd have an explosion -- an absolute explosion in the region, not just in the West Bank and perhaps even in Israeli itself, but throughout the region." (Labott 3). With key officials backing the claim to keep the embassy where it is, the overall resolution needs to go in that direction. This proves that the denial of the Embassy move would secure a region filled to the brim with unrest. Right now, the current policy Trump has adopted is one of complacency. If it is a one or two state solution, he will back whatever comes out of the issue. This is dangerous because the move will incite even more destruction of the Palestinian people by Israel. At the end of the day, the just decision would be to keep the embassy right where it is. 

Through the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, there has never been a clear winner because there never will be a real winner. Each side will continuously fight in peaceful and malicious ways until a bilateral state system is agreed upon. Each nation needs to possess a capital in the land they hold most dear. If not, bloodshed and chaos will continue to be splashed across the headlines. America clearly believes in the Palestinian cause because we have prolonged the embassy move for the past twenty years. Israel has tried long enough to make Jerusalem its soul capital, they need to accept defeat, and accept a two-state solution. 
