By Halid Ibrahim
CAIRO
The Arab League will have an extraordinary meeting to discuss the U.S. plan to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The league’s assistant secretary-general, Hossam Zaki, told reporters in Cairo early Monday that the representatives of the Arab League will convene urgently over Jerusalem on Tuesday after a request from Palestine.
The move came amid recent media reports that U.S. President Donald Trump was preparing to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Earlier on Sunday, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Maliki called on the Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to convene to discuss the situation in Jerusalem.
The top Palestinian diplomat called for the emergency meetings during phone calls with Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul-Gheit and OIC Secretary-General Yousef al-Othaimeen, according to a statement by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry.
On Sunday, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said that such a move would jeopardize the future of the political process in the region.
Jerusalem remains at the core of the perennial Israel-Palestine conflict, as Palestinians want Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.
During his election, Trump promised to relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
