MSNBC reporter Ayman Mohyeldin said Monday that Jerusalem is considered by the U.S. and "international law" to have been "occupied territory since 1967."
Mohyeldin laid out the goals of Israel and the Palestinians in pursuit of a two-state solution during coverage of President Trump's visit to Israel, which included a stop Monday at the Western Wall. MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi noted the Western Wall is a "contested area."
"Here's where you get into tricky language, but let's be very clear about this," Mohyeldin said. "In international law, and even the United States, they don't consider Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel. They consider it to have been occupied territory since 1967. That is the standard policy of international law. Israel has annexed Jerusalem right where you're seeing it there, and they're asking the world to recognize that as their capital, and that's what the debate is."
While Israel's claim of Jerusalem as its capital city is not recognized internationally, calling the entire city "occupied territory" appears to gloss over the realities of the situation.
After Israel's victory in the 1967 "Six-Day War" over Jordan, Syria and Egypt, Israel took control of East Jerusalem, uniting the city. Israel already had ownership over West Jerusalem from its triumph in the 1948-49 Arab-Israeli war.
East Jerusalem houses the Old City, which includes the Western Wall, the Jewish holy site whose location has come under increased scrutiny this month.
After an anonymous U.S. official reportedly told the Israelis last week they did not have a right to the Western Wall, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer gave non-commital answers on whether the Western Wall was part of Israel.
U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, however, stated it is part of the Jewish state.
President Trump became the first sitting U.S. President to visit the Western Wall on Monday. However, he has hedged on an earlier promise to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which would be viewed as U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
UPDATE: 12:34 P.M.: Like Jerusalem's status internationally, Mohyeldin's title is also in dispute. He took exception on Twitter to being called an "analyst" in this article's headline, and NBC News lists him as a "foreign correspondent," but his Twitter bio also notes he's a "co-anchor" on "First Look."
.@DavidRutz grabs a screenshot of my title but still couldnt get the facts right in his tweet & wants us to think his article is factual? 😂 https://t.co/JdcHyXcUEV
— Ayman Mohyeldin (@AymanM) May 22, 2017
@DavidRutz still clueless? Seems like you have a hard time understanding tweets let alone complex issues like the status of Jerusalem. Later bud.
— Ayman Mohyeldin (@AymanM) May 22, 2017