Arab League Urges Australia, Brazil to Shift Stance on Al-Quds

Local Editor

The Arab League on Tuesday adopted a resolution calling on Australia and Brazil to "abide by international law" concerning the status of al-Quds [Jerusalem].

It comes after Brazil's president-elect Jair Bolsonaro announced in November his intention to move his country's embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to al-Quds.

“Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he will "discuss the issue of ‘Jerusalem’ [al-Quds]" with Bolsonaro on his upcoming trip to Brazil.

 “I will meet there with the president-elect of Brazil, who said that he will carry out a revolution in Brazil’s relations with ‘Israel’,” Netanyahu said.

“It’s not just another country, even though every country is important, it’s a country with nearly a quarter of a billion people, a superpower. And they’re changing their relations with ‘Israel’ from one extreme to the other, including on the issue of ‘Jerusalem’ [al-Quds],” he added.

On Saturday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it now recognizes west al-Quds as the “Israeli” entity’s so-called capital but that an embassy shift from Tel Aviv will not occur until a settlement is achieved.

Canberra became one of just a few governments around the world to follow US President Donald Trump's lead and recognize the contested city as the entity’s so-called capital, but Morrison also committed to recognizing a future state of Palestine with east al-Quds as its capital when the city's status is determined in a so-called “peace deal”.

The Arab League decided Tuesday to dispatch a "high-ranking delegation" to Brazil and Australia to inform officials there on the need to "abide by international law" concerning al-Quds.

The decision was taken at an extraordinary meeting at the League's Cairo headquarters attended by delegates from member countries.

The pan-Arab body also called on the UN Security Council to "assume its responsibilities by putting pressure on ‘Israel’... and stop its aggression against the Palestinian people".

The “Israeli” entity seized east al-Quds in the 1967 Six Day war and later annexed it, declaring the entire city its "eternal and indivisible capital", in a move not recognized by most of the international community.

The Palestinian leadership has slammed Australia and Brazil over their plans.

In a supportive move, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister later downplayed Australia’s decision to recognize west al-Quds as the entity’s so-called capital after the Palestinian Authority (PA) described the move as "irresponsible".

"Australia's position in no way affects the legitimate claims of the Palestinians, the first of which is to demand East ‘Jerusalem’ [al-Quds] as the capital of Palestine,” Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa tweeted.

“The Australian decision is also not at odds with the ‘Arab Peace’ Initiative," he added.

In December the US administration of President Donald Trump decided to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to al-Quds and declared the city as the entity’s so-called capital.

The embassy was transferred in May in a move that sparked outrage in across the Arab and Muslim world.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team