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| King Abdullah II of Jordan |
US President Donald Trump phoned Jordan’s King Abdullah on Tuesday and told him he intends to go ahead with a decision to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a Jordanian palace statement said.
King Abdullah was quoted in the statement as telling Trump that such a decision would have “dangerous repercussions on the stability and security of the region” and would obstruct U.S. efforts to resume Arab-Israeli peace talks.
It would also inflame Muslim and Christian feelings, the king added.
US endorsement of Israel’s claim to all of Jerusalem as its capital would break with decades of US policy that the city’s status must be decided in negotiations with the Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
The international community does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the entire city.
King Abdullah warned Trump of the risks of any decision that ran counter to a final settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict based on the creation of an independent Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem.
“Jerusalem is the key to achieving peace and stability in the region and the world,” the palace statement said.
The monarch also phoned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and said they had to both work together to “confront the consequences of this decision.”
King Abdullah’s Hashemite dynasty is the custodian of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, making Amman sensitive to any changes of status of the disputed city.
