Arab leaders seek joint strategy on Syria crisis

Council resolutions, but we should also impart an unequivocal message that Syria is an Arab land whose fate and problems should be addressed according to the Syrian people’s will,” he added in a televised address.

The Dhahran conference is the first by Arab leaders since US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December.

Trump’s move on Jerusalem, which houses Islam’s third holiest site, has unleashed outrage across the Muslim and Arab worlds. King Salman on Sunday denounced Trump’s decision.

“We confirm that East Jerusalem is an inseparable part of the Palestinian land.”

In a gesture of support, the Saudi King pledged $150 million for Islamic sites in Jerusalem.

In an address to the same event, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the US had lost credibility as a peacemaker after Trump’s decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“Washington says it has taken the Jerusalem file off the negotiation table. This violates international law and is a precedent that we consider a major setback,” he added.

Trump’s decision on Jerusalem reversed Washington’s decades-old stance of leaving the sensitive issue to be decided in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

The summit also discussed a number of issues and topics listed on the agenda, including the secretarygeneral’s report on joint Arab work, the Palestinian cause and the ArabIsraeli conflict and its developments, developing the Arab League, the situation in Syria, Libya and Yemen and the fight against terrorism.

The summit also looked at the developments of the joint economic and social cooperation and decided on an Arab cultural summit and the date of the 30th Arab Summit which will be held in 2019.

The summit discussed a report on the joint Arab regarding trade and investment, besides the Arab strategy for food and water security and the Arab convention on exchanging plant resources and heritage knowledge.