JEDDAH: Arab foreign ministers on Saturday stressed that peace in the Middle East is impossible without addressing the Palestinian cause on the basis of a two-state resolution with East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state.
“The Arab League will seek international recognition of the Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital after Washington recognized the holy city as Israel’s capital,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi announced at a joint news conference with Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit following talks in Amman on Jerusalem’s status, also attended by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and the Palestinian Authority, as well as the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs.
“There is a political decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and we will strive to reach an international political decision to recognize a Palestinian state with (East) Jerusalem as its capital,” Safadi said.
He added that the Arab states would work collectively with the international community to secure international recognition of East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state, adding that the meeting was also used to agree on steps to ensure no other country recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
“We reiterated that no peace or security can be achieved in the Middle East without the establishment of a viable Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and in accordance with all relevant international references,” Safadi said, stressing that peace is the only way to resolve the Palestinian cause, being the only strategic option to meet the legitimate and rightful demands of the Palestinian people.
US President Donald Trump reversed decades of American policy and recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Dec. 6, threatening Middle East peace efforts and angering the Arab world and the US’ Western allies alike. Trump’s controversial decision sparked protests in several countries and was rejected in a non-binding UN General Assembly resolution.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir told reporters following a meeting with his Jordanian counterpart that Saudi Arabia stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people in their bid for a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, reiterating the Kingdom’s rejection of the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Al-Jubeir said Saudi Arabia has always been a strong supporter of legitimate Palestinian demands, stressing that addressing the Palestinian and the Arab Israeli struggle on the basis of a two-state solution is key to regional peace in the Middle East.
“Arab efforts have succeeded in isolating the US decision, citing the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly votes, adding that these efforts will continue to deter any effort aiming at undermining the status of Jerusalem,” Abul Gheit said.
He added that the Arab League’s foreign ministers will reconvene at the end of this month when Palestine briefs the group on what has been achieved so far with regard to their efforts to counter the US decision and the illegal Israeli measures to change the status of Jerusalem.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967 and later annexed East Jerusalem in a move never recognized by the international community.
Earlier on Saturday, Jordan’s King Abdullah met the ministers and said: “the question of Jerusalem must be resolved within the framework of a just and lasting peace agreement between Palestinians and Israelis.”
Arabs seek recognition for Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital
Arabs seek recognition for Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital
UN rights chief Shocked by ‘unbearable’ Darfur atrocities
- Mediation efforts have failed to produce a ceasefire, even after international outrage intensified last year with reports of mass killings, rape, and abductions during the RSF’s takeover of El-Fasher in Darfur
PORT SUDAN: Nearly three years of war have put the Sudanese people through “hell,” the UN’s rights chief said on Sunday, blasting the vast sums spent on advanced weaponry at the expense of humanitarian aid and the recruitment of child soldiers.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by a conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that has left tens of thousands of people dead and around 11 million displaced.
Speaking in Port Sudan during his first wartime visit, UN Human Rights commissioner Volker Turk said the population had endured “horror and hell,” calling it “despicable” that funds that “should be used to alleviate the suffering of the population” are instead spent on advanced weapons, particularly drones.
More than 21 million people are facing acute food insecurity, and two-thirds of Sudan’s population is in urgent need of humanitarian aid, according to the UN.
In addition to the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis, Sudan is also facing “the increasing militarization of society by all parties to the conflict, including through the arming of civilians and recruitment and use of children,” Turk added.
He said he had heard testimony of “unbearable” atrocities from survivors of attacks in Darfur, and warned of similar crimes unfolding in the Kordofan region — the current epicenter of the fighting.
Testimony of these atrocities must be heard by “the commanders of this conflict and those who are arming, funding and profiting from this war,” he said.
Mediation efforts have failed to produce a ceasefire, even after international outrage intensified last year with reports of mass killings, rape, and abductions during the RSF’s takeover of El-Fasher in Darfur.
“We must ensure that the perpetrators of these horrific violations face justice regardless of the affiliation,” Turk said on Sunday, adding that repeated attacks on civilian infrastructure could constitute “war crimes.”
He called on both sides to “cease intolerable attacks against civilian objects that are indispensable to the civilian population, including markets, health facilities, schools and shelters.”
Turk again warned on Sunday that crimes similar to those seen in El-Fasher could recur in volatile Kordofan, where the RSF has advanced, besieging and attacking several key cities.
Hundreds of thousands face starvation across the region, where more than 65,000 people have been displaced since October, according to the latest UN figures.
