Naharnet

Aoun, Hariri Slam Trump's 'Dangerous' Decision on Jerusalem

President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Wednesday deplored U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

“It is a dangerous decision that undermines the United States' credibility as a sponsor of the peace process in the region,” Aoun said in a tweet.

“This decision sets back the Palestinian-Israeli peace process several decades and destroys any attempt to reconcile their viewpoints,” the president lamented.

And warning of “possible repercussions from the U.S. decision that could threaten the stability of the region, and perhaps the entire world,” Aoun urged Arab states to “take a unified stance to restore Jerusalem's Arab identity and prevent its modification.”

The president also called on Arab states to press for “restoring respect for the U.N. resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative as the only way to achieve just and comprehensive peace that restores the rights.”

Hariri meanwhile said the Arab world rejects Trump's decision, “which subjects the region to dangers.”

“Lebanon deplores and rejects this decision, and on this day it announces the highest levels of solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to the creation of an independent state whose capital is Jerusalem,” the premier tweeted.

Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital earlier on Wednesday, in a historic decision that overturns decades of U.S. policy and risks triggering a fresh spasm of violence in the Middle East.

"Israel is a sovereign nation with the right like every other sovereign nation to determine its own capital," the U.S. leader declared, saying "acknowledging this as a fact is a necessary condition for achieving peace."

Source: Naharnet


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