Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat Wednesday said Israel will not be deterred by the threat of violence following President Donald Trump's decision to declare the United States recognizes the holy city as Israel's capital, while praising Trump for keeping his promise.

"I want to applaud President Trump for fulfilling his promise and making that right move," Barkat told CNN's "New Day" program. "It's the right thing to do. Here in Jerusalem and Israel, we applaud the president."

He added that if anyone tries to deter the plan by violence, they will not succeed.

"The state of Israel would never be what it is today if we would be deterred by violence," Barkat said. "Unfortunately our neighbors sometimes challenge us, and sometimes they do it for no reason. Just two years ago there was incitements for no reason, and meaning we have to stick to it and if they become violent, they will pay a heavy price. We are not deterred by threats of any kind."

There have been numerous world leaders who disagree with the move, pointed out show co-host Alisyn Camerota, including from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Iran, Syria and more.

Barkat said Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people and of Israel for 3,000 years, and recognizing it officially should have come years ago.

"Behind me, where people, kings, walked 3,000 years ago," said the mayor. "Everywhere you put a shovel on the ground, you find Jewish roots. That recognition should have been 70 years ago when Israel started, and 50 years ago when Jerusalem was reunited, and in 1995 when Congress made that decision."

Before Barkat came on, Hanan Ashrawi, an executive committee member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told the morning program that Trump's action delivered a "death knell" to the peace process in the Middle East and gave the excuse for "extremists and nuts all over the world" to commit violence.

"This isn't going to change the legal status of Jerusalem, by the way, this will only undermine American standing throughout the world," Ashrawi said. "It will disqualify the U.S. from playing a role in any peacemaking."

The mayor, though, said that Trump is following his heart and history and doing the right thing.

"There's no peace agreement without Jerusalem being the capital of the Jewish people in the state of Israel," Barkat said. "From our perspective it's a simple decision to make, and whoever thinks there could be peace without making Jerusalem the capital of the Jewish people does not understand the Jewish people."

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