11 December 2017•Update: 11 December 2017
By Khaled Ibrahim
CAIRO
The speaker of the Arab Parliament, Meshal al-Selmi, on Monday called for an Arab roadmap for establishing a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Addressing an urgent meeting of the parliament in Cairo, Selmi held the U.S. responsible for the consequences of the “irresponsible decision” taken by U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Last week, Trump announced the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as well as preparations to relocate the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the city.
The dramatic reverse in the U.S. policy on neutrality regarding the city triggered protests across the Muslim world.
Selmi warned that the U.S. decision would deal a death blow to peacemaking in the Middle East, going on to call on Muslim countries to support Palestine.
He also called on the UN to join the regional peace process and “shoulder responsibility toward saving Jerusalem and its holy sites”.
The parliament later called for an extraordinary meeting to be held to discuss the U.S. decision.
It did not suggest a date for the meeting but said it would work out a legal plan to challenge the decision, which it said violated UN resolutions and international law.
In a statement, it said it would seek to enhance coordination with the Palestine government.
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 future Palestinian state.
