Arab foreign ministers to meet on Trump’s Jerusalem move

CAIRO, Egypt — Arab foreign ministers will meet early next month to discuss steps against US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the Arab League said Wednesday.

The meeting of the League’s Council will be held on February 1 in Cairo, its general secretariat said in a memo obtained by AFP.

President Trump’s controversial decision in December to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital sparked protests in Arab and Muslim countries and was rejected in a non-binding UN General Assembly resolution. The recognition was welcomed in Israel, and Guatemala has since announced it will follow the US in moving its embassy to the city.

Jordan said on Saturday that the League would seek international recognition of the Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital following the US move.

In a resolution after an emergency meeting in December, Arab foreign ministers urged the US to rescind its decision and said Washington had “withdrawn itself as a sponsor and broker” of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Jerusalem’s status is among the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967 and extended sovereignty over East Jerusalem in a move never recognized by the international community.

Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its united capital, while the Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

When announcing his decision Trump stressed the city’s final boundaries should be determined in negotiations between the sides and that access to religious sites shouldn’t be impeded.