Saudi Arabia on Thursday slammed US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, calling the move “unjustified and irresponsible”.
Trump ended seven decades of US ambiguity on the status of the disputed city on Wednesday, prompting an almost universal diplomatic backlash and fears of new bloodshed in the Middle East.
He also kicked off the process of moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“The kingdom expresses great regret over the US president’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” said a Saudi royal court statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
The decision goes against the “historical and permanent rights of the Palestinian people”, the royal court said, calling on Trump to reconsider his decision.
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“The kingdom has already warned of the serious consequences of such an unjustified and irresponsible move,” the statement said.
“The US move represents a significant decline in efforts to push a peace process and is a violation of the historically neutral American position on Jerusalem.”
Saudi King Salman on Tuesday had warned Trump that moving the US embassy for Israel to Jerusalem was a “dangerous step” that could rile Muslims worldwide.
Trump’s announcement appears to have cast a pall over relations between Saudi Arabia and the US, which have warmed in the months after his election, with the president choosing the Gulf kingdom for his first overseas visit in May.
While the two countries have long been allies, Riyadh viewed Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama as overly friendly with its arch-nemesis Iran.
Israel and Saudi Arabia have no official diplomatic relations.
Donald Trump’s decision on Wednesday drew sharp criticism from global leaders, with the significant exception of Israel.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas responded by saying the US could no longer play the role of peace broker after Trump’s decision.
“These deplorable and unacceptable measures deliberately undermine all peace efforts,” Abbas had said in a speech following Trump’s announcement.
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Pakistan also joined the international community in expressing its strong opposition. “It is deeply regrettable that pleas from states across the globe not to alter the legal and historical status of Al Quds Al Sharif have been ignored, more out of choice than necessity,” read a statement issued by the Prime Minister Office on Wednesday.
The United Arab Emirates denounced the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Al Arabiya reported on Thursday, citing a foreign ministry statement.
“The ministry expressed deep concern over the repercussions of this decision on the region’s stability as it inflames the emotions of the Arab and Muslim people due to the status of Jerusalem in the conscience of Arabs and Muslims,” said the statement.
Qatar’s emir also warned US President Donald Trump that his decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would have “serious repercussions”, according to a statement from Doha’s foreign ministry on Thursday.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani “warned of the serious repercussions of this step, which would further complicate the situation in the Middle East and negatively affect the security and stability in the region,” read a statement from the ministry, quoting the emir in a phone call with Trump.
Jordan condemned Trump’s move as amounting to a violation of international law and the UN charter while Turkey slammed Trump’s Jerusalem announcement as irresponsible and illegal.
Iraq’s government also decried the Trump administration’s move as “unjust”, with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warning of “dangerous consequences” for regional stability and the world.
