Egypt to hold int’l conference on Jerusalem in January - Egypt Today

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/36138/Egypt-to-hold-int'l-conference-on-Jerusalem-in-January
Mukhtar Gomaa - REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Egypt to hold int'l conference on Jerusalem in January

By: Egypt Today staff

Sat, Dec. 9, 2017

CAIRO – 9 December 2017: Egypt's Ministry of Awqaf (Endowment) will hold an international conference on January 20 to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's decision of recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, announced Minister of Awqad Mukhtar Gomaa in a statement on Saturday.

"If U.S. seeks peace, it should reverse this decision," he said during a meeting with Ministry officials on Saturday, the statement added, noting that the U.S. administration tried to exploit the divisions in some Arab countries.

On Wednesday night, United States' President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel during a televised speech from the White House. Trump's decision was met by a barrage of criticism and condemnations from many Arab and world leaders, while protests took places in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and different parts of the Arab world.

During Friday's sermon, Gomaa said that Jerusalem has always been an Arabian city, as it always will be, continuing that Trump's decision does not change the reality of its Arabism.

Clashes broke out between Israeli forces and Palestinians in the West Bank on Friday; Israeli forces fired tear gas on the protesters, killing two Palestinians and injuring more than 300 others. On Saturday, Israeli airstrikes killed two others and injured dozens, raising the injured toll to 1,114 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health on Saturday.

In Egypt and many Arab and world countries, protests parked following Friday prayers against Trump.

Egypt's Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb announced his rejection to meet with U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence, who will visit Egypt on December 20. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced his rejection to meet with Pence, even though the White House warned that rejecting Pence's meeting could have a negative impact.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has filed a complaint at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) against U.S. President Donald Trump's decision, Sky News Arab

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