Arab foreign ministers on Sunday urged the United States to abandon its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying the move would increase violence throughout the region.
The announcement by President Donald Trump on Wednesday was a “dangerous violation of international law” and had no legal impact, the Arab League said in a statement after several hours of meetings attended by all its members in Cairo.
In Cairo, the head of Egypt’s largest Christian church announced he would not meet US Vice President Mike Pence when he visits Cairo on Dec. 20. A similar decision was made Friday by the head of Al-Azhar, the world’s supreme seat of learning for Sunni Muslims.
Hundreds of worshippers protested Trump’s decision after Friday prayers at Al-Azhar mosque, but security forces prevented them from marching to the city center.
Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem, and his intention to move the US Embassy there, triggered denunciations from around the world, with even close allies suggesting he had needlessly stirred more conflict in an already volatile region.
The city’s status lies at the core of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and Trump’s move was widely perceived as siding with Israel. Even small crises over Jerusalem’s status and that of the holy sites in its ancient Old City have sparked deadly bloodshed in the past.
It was not immediately clear what the foreign ministers will decide on in terms of concrete measures to counter Trump’s decision, but Arab diplomats have spoken of submitting a draft resolution condemning the move to the UN Security Council and unspecified measures touching bilateral ties between Arab League member states and Washington.
The diplomats also speculated that an Arab summit might be called to convene following the foreign ministers’ meeting, a proposition the diplomats said was already embraced by several member states.
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