AMMAN: Palestinians have reacted angrily to reports that US President Donald Trump is considering recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Sunday called for an emergency meeting of the Arab League to discuss the issue.
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said meddling with the status of Jerusalem “will not serve the peace process but will undermine it. It will inflame the conflict not only in Palestine but in the entire region.”
Besides considering recognition, Trump will reportedly sign a six-month waiver to delay moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“If US threats to change the status of Jerusalem take place, this would be dangerous and irresponsible, and will kill the peace process,” Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) executive committee, told Arab News. “Jerusalem isn’t a Palestinian issue. It’s an Arab, Islamic and Christian issue.”
If the US is interested in finding a solution to the status of Jerusalem, “one option would be for it to recognize two states, with West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine,” she added.
Khaled Abu Arafeh, former Palestinian minister of Jerusalem affairs, said he is disappointed with the reactions of individual Arab states and the Arab League collectively.
“We Jerusalemites have lost our faith that the Arab League will take a serious and effective stand against the latest threats by the US to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the occupiers,” he told Arab News.
Abu Arafeh said Arab weakness was evident in the Arab League’s failure to follow up steps taken by UNESCO to protect Jerusalem.
“As a result, we’re seeing the loss of the Arab character of the holy city.”
Mahdi Abdul Hadi, founder and director of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA), told Arab News: “We won’t give up. We’ll stay steadfast with our dignity.”
Abdul Hadi a Jerusalemite, said issuing statements and declarations is insufficient. “What’s needed is a plan, a program, a budget and a steering committee that will work on saving the land, the buildings and the people of Jerusalem,” he added.
Palestinians angry over possible US recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital
Palestinians angry over possible US recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital
US envoy calls for ceasefire deal in northeastern Syria to be maintained
- Tom Barrack, ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy for Syria, reiterates Washington’s support for Jan. 18 integration agreement between Syria’s government and Syrian Democratic Forces
LONDON: Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy for Syria, on Monday reiterated Washington’s desire to ensure the ceasefire agreement in northeastern Syria between Syria’s government and the Syrian Democratic Forces continues.
In a message posted on social media platform X, he wrote: “Productive phone call this evening with his excellency Masoud Barzani to discuss the situation in Syria and the importance of maintaining the ceasefire and ensuring humanitarian assistance to those in need, especially in Kobani.”
Barzani has been the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party since 1979, and served as president of Kurdistan region between 2005 and 2017.
The current present, Nechirvan Barzani, previously welcomed a recent decree by the Syrian president, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, officially recognizing the Kurdish population as an integral part of the country.
Barrack reiterated Washington’s support for efforts to advance the Jan. 18 agreement between Syria’s government and the SDF to integrate the latter into state institutions. The SDF is a Kurdish-led faction led by Mazloum Abdi that operates in northeastern Syria and recently clashed with government forces.
On Saturday, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported that the Syrian Ministry of Defense had announced a 15-day extension of the ceasefire deal.
