King Abdullah held a meeting with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas for discussions on the latest developments on Jerusalem. During their meeting the two leaders said they would organize a summit of Arab states that would seek to unite them in bolstering the Palestinian aspiration for statehood and to protect what they said were ‘Jerusalem’s Islamic characteristics.’ In addition to that, King Abdullah and President Abbas also agreed to work towards gaining international recognition for a state of Palestine and preventing other countries from recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Even though U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, asserting that only through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians could change the status of the city, the Palestinian leadership demand Jerusalem as the capital of their aspired state under any peace agreement, rejecting the American move as a bias decision that has deemed Washington as untrustworthy that has ruled out its legitimacy as a mediator for peace.