Arab League’s al-Quds Stance Weak, Says Iran Foreign Ministry
Iran has denounced as weak a statement by the Arab League on US President Donald Trump’s recent recognition of al-Quds as Israel’s “capital.”
“The Arab League’s statement was not as incisive as it was expected,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Monday at a press conference, adding, “The statement was not proportionate to the [issue of the] Palestinian cause.”
The US president on Wednesday defied global warnings and said Washington formally recognized al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel and would begin the process of moving its embassy to the occupied city, breaking with decades of American policy.
The announcement prompted harsh international warnings that it would bring more chaos to the Middle East region.
The Arab League met to address the issue late on Saturday, releasing a final statement which called on Washington to retract its decision, adding that such a move would only amplify violence throughout the region. It added that Trump’s announcement was a “dangerous violation of international law” which has no legal impact and was “void.
Qassemi said, “An instance of ignorance and maybe a certain policy caused the statement to be lacking in the required and adequate proportions.”
He hoped that the regional situation would prompt the League’s member states to adopt a more realistic approach as the body’s current attitude could prove “dangerous” even for the member states.
The spokesman, meanwhile, praised “more serious” stances adopted concerning the US’s move by many individual Muslim and Arab countries.
He said the Organization of Islamic Cooperation was to meet on Wednesday and expressed hope that the event produces “a more positive” outcome vis-à-vis the matter.
Iran reaffirms full support for Palestinian resistance groups
On the other hand, Major General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ Quds Force, has reaffirmed the Islamic Republic’s full support for Palestinian resistance movements.
Soleimani made the remarks in a phone call on Monday with commanders of Hamas’ military wing, Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, which has been defending the blockaded Gaza Strip against Israel’s acts of aggression, and the Islamic Jihad resistance movement.
The senior IRGC commander also urged all resistance movements in the region to boost their readiness to defend the al-Aqsa Mosque.
Soleimani’s comments came amid simmering tensions in the occupied territories of Palestine following a decision by US President Donald Trump to formally recognize al-Quds as the capital of Israel.
Trump on Wednesday defied global warnings and said Washington formally recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel and would begin the process of moving its embassy to the occupied city, breaking with decades of American policy.
The announcement prompted harsh international warnings that it would bring more chaos to the Middle East region. Several protests have been held in many countries over the past days against the US and Israel.
Earlier on Monday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held talked on phone with Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Palestinian movement Hamas, saying that unity and resistance of the oppressed Palestinian people and other Muslim nations would definitely lead to the failure of the US-Zionist plan to recognize al-Quds as Israel’s “capital.”
Rouhani added that the “insulting” move by the US president was a vicious plan against Palestine and the Muslim world, urging all Muslims to stand against it in unison.
Also on Monday, the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said Trump’s decision to formally recognize al-Quds as the capital of Israel had made the United States and White House isolated in the world.
Hezbollah leader also stated that the most important response to be given to Trump was to declare the beginning of a new intifada, noting that “Trump’s decision on al-Quds will be the beginning of the end of Israel.”
Clashes broke out between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters on Monday, who took to the streets for the fifth consecutive day to censure the US president’s decision.
Israeli forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets in several areas across the occupied West Bank, including Ramallah and Nablus, to disperse the Palestinian demonstrators, who threw rocks at them in return.
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