ARAB LEAGUE TO LOBBY U.N. ON PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD
East Jerusalem will be its capital, says Jordanian foreign minister
AMMAN earlier decisions taken by the Arab League to counter United States President Donald Trump’s move in December last year to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a decision that overturned decades of US policy on the Middle East.
A committee made up of Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Palestinians and headed by Jordan was set up after an emergency meeting of the Arab League in Cairo shortly after Trump’s decision that called on Washington to abandon its decision.
The Arab League said at the time the move would spur violence throughout the region and described Trump’s announcement as a “dangerous violation of international law” which had no legal impact.
Safadi said the ministers would recommend a series of moves to a full ministerial meeting of the Arab League due later this month.
“We will confront the decision by seeking a (UN) resolution, an international one, to recognise a Palestinian state on 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital,” said Safadi.
He did not elaborate on the timing of the diplomatic moves nor say whether he was referring to a UN Security Council or General Assembly resolution.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the ministerial meeting would also discuss Washington’s role in future Arab-Israeli peacemaking that member states said was now jeopardised by what they saw as US bias towards Israel.
“We want to lessen any losses on the Palestinian side and lessen the Israeli gains.”
Arab states would also discuss whether to convene an extraordinary summit of their leaders or wait until a scheduled summit in the Saudi capital Riyadh at the end of March, he added.
In 2012, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine in a resolution that said the status of Jerusalem should be resolved through negotiations. Reuters