OP ED: ST EDITORIAL – Rekindling an old Middle East fire | The Straits Times

US President Donald Trump has just made a bad situation worse. Soon after retweeting an incendiary anti-Muslim video that earned him a rebuke from British Prime Minister Theresa May, and with a Special Counsel focusing on his presidential campaign’s suspected links to Russia, Mr Trump has moved to make good on his promise to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to shift the US embassy from its current location in Tel Aviv to the contested city. If this was a diversionary tactic, it has been successful. The Muslim world, the European Union, the United Nations secretary-general and South-east Asia – almost all except Israel are upset at his action.