Pak, Saudi Arabia among leading muslim states condemning Trump on recognition to Jerusalem as Israeli capital

Srinagar/New Delhi: Donald Trump’s decision of declaring Jerusalem as capital od Israel on Wednesday triggered sharp criticism from global leaders, with the significant exception of Israel which called the decision “historical”.
Palestine
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas responded by saying the US could no longer play the role of peace broker after Trump’s decision. “These deplorable and unacceptable measures deliberately undermine all peace efforts,” Abbas had said in a speech following Trump’s announcement.
Pakistan
Reacting over the US move to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Pakistan said that this step is a “clear violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions”. “The people and Government of Pakistan have noted with grave concern the reported move by the United States to shift its Embassy to the occupied City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, thereby altering the legal and historical status of the city,” said a statement issued by the prime minister’s office Thursday. Such a step, it said, would constitute a clear violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions particularly UNSCR 478 of 1980. “It would also sidestep decades of global consensus on this issue, undermine regional peace and security as well as derail any prospects for a lasting peace in the Middle East,” said the statement. It said that the people and Government of Pakistan are unequivocally opposed to the reported plan of shifting the US Embassy to Al-Quds Al-Sharif. “Pakistan fully endorses the recently adopted Final Communique of the OIC on this issue,” said the statement. “Pakistan calls upon the United States to refrain from any move that alters the legal and historical status as well as character of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, fully comply with all applicable UN Security Council resolutions including UNSCR 478.” While reaffirming full solidarity with the Palestinian people, Pakistan renewed its call for establishment of a viable, independent and contiguous State of Palestine, on the basis of internationally agreed parameters, the pre-1967 borders, and with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia slammed US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, calling the move “unjustified and irresponsible”. Trump ended seven decades of US ambiguity on the status of the disputed city on Wednesday, prompting an almost universal diplomatic backlash and fears of new bloodshed in the Middle East. He also kicked off the process of moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. “The kingdom expresses great regret over the US president’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” said a Saudi royal court statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. The decision goes against the “historical and permanent rights of the Palestinian people”, the royal court said, calling on Trump to reconsider his decision. “The kingdom has already warned of the serious consequences of such an unjustified and irresponsible move,” the statement said. “The US move represents a significant decline in efforts to push a peace process and is a violation of the historically neutral American position on Jerusalem.” Saudi King Salman on Tuesday had warned Trump that moving the US embassy for Israel to Jerusalem was a “dangerous step” that could rile Muslims worldwide. Trump’s announcement appears to have cast a pall over relations between Saudi Arabia and the US, which have warmed in the months after his election, with the president choosing the Gulf kingdom for his first overseas visit in May. While the two countries have long been allies, Riyadh viewed Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama as overly friendly with its arch-nemesis Iran. Israel and Saudi Arabia have no official diplomatic relations.
UAE
The United Arab Emirates denounced the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Al Arabiya reported on Thursday, citing a foreign ministry statement.
“The ministry expressed deep concern over the repercussions of this decision on the region’s stability as it inflames the emotions of the Arab and Muslim people due to the status of Jerusalem in the conscience of Arabs and Muslims,” said the statement.
Afghanistan
The Afghan government, in a statement from Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah’s office, expressed its deep concern about the status of Jerusalem, saying the decision was “hurtful to the emotions of all Muslims in the world” and would endanger the peace process in the Middle East.
Qatar
Qatar’s emir also warned US President Donald Trump that his decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would have “serious repercussions”, according to a statement from Doha’s foreign ministry on Thursday.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani “warned of the serious repercussions of this step, which would further complicate the situation in the Middle East and negatively affect the security and stability in the region,” read a statement from the ministry, quoting the emir in a phone call with Trump.
Jordan
Jordan condemned Trump’s move as amounting to a violation of international law and the UN charter while Turkey slammed Trump’s Jerusalem announcement as irresponsible and illegal.
Iraq’s government also decried the Trump administration’s move as “unjust”, with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warning of “dangerous consequences” for regional stability and the world.
He said the US should “retreat from that decision in order to stop a dangerous escalation that leads to extremism and creates an atmosphere which helps terrorism.”
Eight countries — including Britain, France and Italy — pressed for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in response to the move, which was set for Friday.
Prime Minister Theresa May said the British government disagreed with Trump’s decision, saying it was “unhelpful” for peace efforts.
Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, hailed Trump’s recognition as “historic” and a “courageous and just decision”.
Netanyahu had also pledged no change to the status quo at Jerusalem’s highly sensitive holy sites in the city, sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims.