by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Cairo : Activities of Al-Azhar International Conference in Support of Jerusalem will kick off in Cairo on Wednesday with a high-level Arab, Islamic and international participation and attendance of representatives from 86 countries, under the patronage of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
The opening session of the two-day conference includes speeches by Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb; Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas; Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen; Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit; Speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly Marzouq Al-Ghanim; Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz Al Alsheikh; Secretary General of the Muslim World League (MWL) Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa; Arab Parliament Speaker Dr. Meshaal bin Fahm Al-Salami; Pope Tawadros II, Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark; and Secretary General of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit.
The second session of the conference, to be chaired by former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, entitled “The Arab identity of Jerusalem and its mission”, deals with the following four themes: “Universal religious status of Jerusalem”, “Jerusalem and its civilization – history and present”, “The impact of identity change in spreading hatred”, and “Refuting Zionist claims about Jerusalem and Palestine.” The conference will come to a close with adoption of the final declaration.
—Ayman Mohammed/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (R) shakes hands with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita during a meeting on Jerusalem in Amman, Jordan, on Jan. 6, 2018.
Amman : King Abdullah II of Jordan on Saturday called for intensified Arab efforts to support the Palestinians following a decision by US President Donald Trump recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
At a meeting with several Arab foreign ministers, the king said there was a need for more efforts to support the rights of the Palestinians in preserving their legal and historic rights in Jerusalem and in creating their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, reports Xihua.
The Jordanian leader said the issue of Jerusalem should be settled through negotiations and as part of a lasting peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis based on the two-state solution, the international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
He underlined the need for supporting the Jerusalemites and protecting the Arabic identity of the city as well as the holy Islamic and Christian sites.
Jordan, he said, will continue to safeguard the holy sites in the city.
Discussions also covered best means to face the consequences of the US decision that violates international resolutions.
In a press conference following a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Amman, Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi reiterated the Arabs’ rejection of the US decision.
Rejecting any Israeli unilateral measures, he said the Arabs will push for a global recognition of Palestine.
The minister added that the Arabs will exert more efforts to curb any further recognitions of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, adding that there will be no peace and security in the region without creating an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono
Amman : Japan will not relocate its embassy from Israel’s Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono has said.
In talks with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, Kono on Tuesday said that Tokyo considers Jerusalem as one of the final status issues that need to be settled through direct negotiations.
Kono reiterated Japan’s support for the two-state solution and the need to reactivate efforts in this regard, Xinhua news agency reported.
He also voiced appreciation for Jordan’s efforts to attain peace in the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump’s decision to relocate the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem violates international law and UN resolutions, said Safadi.
He called for intensified efforts on an international level to facilitate the two-state solution that ensures the creation of an independent state of Palestine on the basis of the 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital.
In 1967, Israel took over East Jerusalem from Jordan and declared the whole city as its “eternal indivisible capital” in 1980. However, it has not been recognised by the international community.
Jordanian Prime Minister Hani Mulki has said during his meeting with Kono on Tuesday that Trump’s decision was “null and void” and in contradiction with the international law.
He added that the Palestinian issue was a central issue in the Middle East. Japan’s support for Jordan, which hosts more than 1.3 million Syrian refugees, was also discussed.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
A view of an old market in Hebron, West Bank.
By Muhammed Ferid Mahmud Abdullah, Mohamed Sabry Emam Muhammed,
Jerusalem : U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has negatively affected businesses in the holy city, according to Jerusalem’s chamber of commerce.
“Trump’s decision has adversely affected the city market and tourism business,” chamber’s director Fadi al-Hidmi told Anadolu Agency on Saturday.
He said there has been a dramatic decline in the number of tourists and hotel reservations in recent days, causing an economic recession in the city.
“Security concerns are the main reason for this decline,” al-Hidmi said. “Many reservations have been canceled after the U.S. recognition.”
He said even before the U.S. move, Palestinian entreprenuers have complained of the difficulty of getting Israeli licenses to start a tourist business or repair existing shops.
“It will probably be impossible to get a licence from now on,” he said, adding that Israel would use the U.S. move to increase pressure on Palestinians and business owners in the city.
Hidmi said land and apartment prices in Jerusalem were likely to increase dramatically after the U.S. decision.
“In spite of opposition to the U.S. move, companies planning to move their headquarters to Jerusalem will get panicked, which will surely lead to an increase of prices,” he said.
Last week, Trump announced recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The move has invited a storm of condemnations and triggered protests in the Palestinian territories and several Arab and Muslim countries.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem — now occupied by Israel — might eventually serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.
* Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this report from Ankara
—AA
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Washington : US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital triggered global flak, including from some of America’s closest allies, amid fears it could strengthen extremists and destroy the region’s faltering peace process.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Trump’s decision on Wednesday had made for a “historic day” and was “an important step towards peace”. But furious Palestinians condemned it and warned that had diminished Washington’s role as a peace mediator.
Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas called the decision “deplorable” and said it will not change Jerusalem’s status as the “eternal capital of the State of Palestine”.
Palestinians took to the streets in Gaza and the West Bank.
The hardline Hamas called for a “day of rage” on Friday and said the decision would “open the doors of hell” on US interests in the region.
In a landmark speech in Washington, Trump reversed decades of US policy in defiance of warnings that recognizing Jerusalem as the capital will derail the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and create further unrest in the Middle East.
Trump, fulfilling his campaign promise, said he had “judged this course of action to be in the best interests of the US and the pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians”.
He said he would tell the State Department to begin preparations to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump said the US still supported a two-state solution to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, if approved by both sides.
Several past US Presidents insisted that the status of Jerusalem — home to sites holy to the Jewish, Muslim and Christian religions — must be decided in negotiations between the two sides.
The UN Security Council will discuss the issue on Friday after eight of the 15 nations called for an emergency session. The Arab League will meet on Saturday.
The Arab and the wider Muslim world, including a number of US allies, condemned Trump’s announcement.
The Saudi Royal Court warned of serious consequences of such an “irresponsible and unwarranted step”. The United Arab Emirates expressed “deep concern” about the repercussions of the decision, WAM news agency reported.
Lebanon’s pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper declared “Death to America” on its front page on Thursday.
President Hassan Rouhani said Iran “will not tolerate a violation of Islamic sanctities. Muslims must stand united against this major plot”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the US decision was not only a violation of international law but also a severe blow to the conscience of humanity. Demonstrations erupted outside the US consulate in Istanbul.
Kuwait and Qatar, besides China and Pakistan, also came out against the US move.
India declined to comment, saying its position on Palestine “is independent and consistent”.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said it was “a moment of great anxiety”. He said “there is no alternative to the two-state solution”.
Pope Francis called for the city’s “status quo” to be respected, saying new tensions in the Middle East would further inflame world conflicts.
British leader Theresa May disagreed with the US decision, which was “unhelpful in terms of prospects for peace in the region”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron both said their countries did not support the move. Canada said its embassy won’t move to Jerusalem.
EU chief diplomat Federica Mogherini voiced “serious concern”.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak called on Muslims worldwide to “make it clear that we strongly oppose” the US move. Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo too slammed the US decision.
The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, and according to the 1993 Israel-Palestinian peace accords, its final status is meant to be discussed in the latter stages of peace talks.
—IANS
