Germans oppose recognizing Jerusalem as Israeli capital

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN

Most Germans oppose recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a recent survey by the Die Welt daily has found.

Around 64 percent of respondents said they are against any move by the German government to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, while 27 percent of those polled voiced support for such a step, after U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent controversial decision.

The representative survey was conducted between Dec. 11 and 13 in cooperation with the research institute Civey.

Some 67 percent of voters who backed Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic bloc (CDU/CSU) opposed following Trump's example.

The opposition was 80 percent among the Social Democratic Party (SPD) voters, and 82 percent among Green Party voters.

Only the supporters of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) overwhelmingly backed Trump’s move.

Fifty-six percent of AfD voters argued Berlin should recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized Trump’s move last week and stressed the status of Jerusalem should be settled in the framework of a two-state solution, and through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

Last week, Trump announced his decision despite widespread international opposition.

Jerusalem remains at the core of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- now occupied by Israel -- might eventually serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.