The Foreign Ministers from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority held a special meeting to discuss US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, as well as Arab efforts to realize a Palestinian state. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi announced that at the request of the Arab League, Arab states will join efforts in bringing about international recognition of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, on lands Israel captured during the 1967 Middle East war. He said, “We will have specific requests, the most important of which is the recognition of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital according to the June 4th, 1967 borders. This is an effort we will undertake now, at the Arab League’s request. Just as there was a political decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, we will now work to achieve an international political decision recognizing the Palestinian state at the 1967 border with Jerusalem as its capital,” the Jordanian top diplomat asserted in a joint press conference with the Director-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
Following the meeting, which the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia referred to as “constructive,” Adel al-Jubeir also stressed that formulating a viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the question of Jerusalem that has been one of the biggest obstacles to a peace agreement for generations – only then a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict can be realized. Al Jubeir said, “The meeting concerning Jerusalem was very constructive, we were able to come out with important suggestions regarding the joint efforts to face the American decision and in support of the Palestinian, Arab and Islamic positions with regards to Jerusalem and what we hope to achieve as a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict,” The Saudi Foreign Minister said following the meeting.