'Support for Jerusalem' Conference Calls for Recognizing the City as the Capital of Palestine

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (2nd L) shakes hands with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb — the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar — during Al-Azhar's conference on Jerusalem, in Cairo, Egypt, January 17, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

An international conference in support of Jerusalem concluded in Cairo Thursday, calling on US President Donald Trump to go back on his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to transfer the US Embassy to it.

Organized by Al-Azhar University and attended by delegations from 86 countries, including Saudi Arabia, the conference issued a statement warning that the “continuation of the US decision will fuel and spread violent extremism in the entire world,” and stressing that Jerusalem “is the eternal capital of the independent state of Palestine, and strenuous efforts must be deployed to recognize it at the official and international levels.”

In a speech during Thursday’s session, Faisal bin Muammar, Secretary General of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), called upon the Islamic, Christian and Jewish religious institutions to form partnerships under the patronage of Al-Azhar for the sake of the victory of Jerusalem and the Palestinian cause.

Meetings of Al-Azhar International Conference in Support of Jerusalem continued Thursday under the auspices of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, in the presence of a large crowd of prominent political, intellectual and religious figures.

Participants issued a joint declaration at the end of the conference, in which they stressed that Jerusalem was the eternal capital of the independent State of Palestine, and strongly rejected Trump’s “decision that will fuel violent extremism around the world.”

In his address to the conference, Dr. Ahmed Attia, Yemeni Minister of Religious Affairs (Awqaf), underlined that the Palestinian issue was a priority for Arab countries, describing the US decision “as terrorism in itself”.

He also noted that the US president was dealing with Jerusalem as a “piece of land in Washington”, stressing that the city “was and will remain Arab.”

Archbishop of Beirut for the Maronites Boulos Matar called on the American people to correct the decision and to abolish it by resorting to international justice.