Arabs seeking international recognition of Jerusalem as Palestinian capital — Safadi

AMMAN — The micro Arab ministerial team tasked with following up on the repercussions of the US decision recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocating the US embassy in the city, on Saturday concluded meetings that were held at the Foreign Ministry.

The Arab League, upon a call by Jordan and Palestine, had announced the formation of a micro Arab ministerial team of the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as the Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

The meetings, headed by Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, went over the best means to address the repercussions of the US decision that contradicts international legitimacy resolutions, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Participants highlighted the importance of intensifying efforts aimed at reaching a political solution that ends the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and heralds the establishment of the independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. 

At a joint press conference with Aboul Gheit after the talks on the status of Jerusalem, Safadi said that Jordan would seek international recognition of the Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital after Washington recognised the holy city as Israel’s capital.

“There is a political decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and we will strive to reach an international political decision to recognise a Palestinian state... with [East] Jerusalem as its capital,” Agence France- Presse quoted Safadi as saying.

Safadi said that the committee will work jointly to stop any other country from recognising the city as the capital of Israel and relocate their embassies into it, according to Petra. 

The minister added that the team will continue supporting the legitimate rights of Palestine to boost its status on the international map, including through platforms of international organisations and conventions.

There will be no security, no stability and no safety in the region without implementing the two-state solution to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, he stressed. 

Safadi noted that team members agreed to hold a broader meeting at the Arab League ministerial council later in the month to present recommendations and acquaint Arab ministers with outcomes of the meetings, until reaching the envisioned goals that would neutralise the US decision. 

In response to a question on finding another sponsor of the Mideast peace process, Aboul Gheit said that the recent resolution by the Arab League ministerial council stressed that the US decision took Washington “out of the settlement framework”.