Arabs to discuss ‘illegal’ US embassy move to Jerusalem

CAIRO: The Arab League will hold emergency talks Wednesday to discuss Washington’s ‘illegal’ decision to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a senior official said.

The meeting will focus on “ways of countering the illegal decision by the United States to move the embassy to Jerusalem”, the organisation’s deputy secretary general for Palestinian affairs, Saeed Abu Ali, said.

He told reporters the permanent representatives of members of the Cairo-based Arab League would meet “at the request of the state of Palestine”.

Jordan denounced the embassy move as a “clear violation” of the UN charter.

In a statement, it also “condemned” a unilateral decision by US President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, despite Palestinian claims to part of the disputed city.

Jordan is the only other Arab country besides Egypt to have ties with Israel, and it is also the custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.

The status of the holy city – home also to Christian and Jewish shrines – is perhaps the thorniest issue in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

The US embassy was set to open in Jerusalem on Monday afternoon despite a global outcry and Palestinian anger over the decision.

Hours before the inauguration, at least 41 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire along the Gaza border, the Gazan health ministry said, as mass protests and clashes erupted against the embassy transfer.