Arab FMs reject US decision on Jerusalem

Arab FMs reject US decision on Jerusalem

FPJ BureauUpdated: Thursday, May 30, 2019, 01:38 AM IST
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The ministers from member states of the Arab League said the moveis illegal, and warned it could lead to further violation in the region.

Cairo :Arab Foreign Ministers declared on Sunday that the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is illegal, and warned it could lead to further violence in the region.

The ministers from member states of the Arab League held a prolonged urgent meeting here from Saturday evening, and urged the US to withdraw its decision, which they described as a violation of international law, Xinhua news agency reported.

US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he acknowledged Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and decided to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem – an announcement that received wide criticism and opposition from Arab and Muslim countries.

The US decision has no legal effect, the Arab ministers said in their final statement, adding that it undermines peace efforts, deepens tension, provokes anger and pushes the region into violence and instability. They urged world countries to recognise an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

They have pointed out that the US has isolated itself as a peace mediator and sponsor after making this decision. They stressed adherence to peace based on the two-state solution, calling for a UN Security Council resolution to affirm that the US decision goes against the resolutions of international legitimacy. Before the meeting, the Palestinian National Authority’s Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said that with Trump’s decision, the US had taken sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and forfeited its role as mediator.

He stressed that there will be no official contact between any Palestinian and American officials, and that the Palestinians will seek a “new international focal point for ending the occupation” but not withdraw from the peace process. Jerusalem lies at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

Israel took over East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war and declared the whole city as its eternal indivisible capital in 1980, but this had not been recognised by the international community.

The Palestinians insist that they should establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital in the final settlement.

Under the previous Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, the status of Jerusalem should be determined through the final status talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

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