Egyptian president stresses necessity to preserve Jerusalem status

Cairo, Dec. 12 (IANS):  Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has stressed his country’s firm stance on the necessity of preserving the legal and historical status of Jerusalem in a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo.

Both leaders held a prolonged meeting on Monday and discussed the recent developments after the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, spokesman for Egyptian presidency Bassam Rady said in a statement, Xinhua reported.

Sisi stressed Egypt’s support for establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, Rady noted.

Meanwhile, Abbas said the US decision was surprising at a time when the Palestinian Authority showed flexibility and readiness to reach a settlement based on the two-state solution and recognition of East Jerusalem as Palestine’s capital in line with the pre-1967 borders.

The two sides tackled the dangerous repercussions of the US decision on the status of Jerusalem and the Middle East peace process, the spokesman said.

Both leaders agreed to continue consultations as well as exploiting the current international momentum opposing the US decision.

Last week, US President Donald Trump announced that he acknowledged Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and decided to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Trump’s declaration received wide criticism and opposition from Arab and Muslim countries.

Jerusalem lies at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

While Israel took over East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war and declared the whole city as its eternal indivisible capital in 1980, it has not been recognized by the international community.

The Palestinians insist that they should establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital in the final settlement.

Under the previous Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, the status of Jerusalem should be determined through the final-status talks between Israel and the Palestinians.