Arab ministers meet to discuss Jerusalem situation

Amman:The Foreign Ministers of six Arab countries and the Secretary General of the Arab League on Saturday met in Jordan to discuss the next steps in response to US President Donald Trump’s decision recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The meeting was attended by the Foreign Ministers of the Palestinian National Authority, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Morocco, who formed the Arab ministerial panel on December 9 to consider the Jerusalem issue, as well Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

The possibility of holding an emergency Arab summit to defend the historic and legal status of Jerusalem was one of the meeting’s main topics, Efe news reported.

Arab countries have opposed Washington’s decision on Jerusalem, which ended decades of international consensus that the city’s final status must be settled by negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

Palestinians see East Jerusalem, which was seized by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War, as the capital of their future state.

—IANS