Arabs seek global nod to east Jerusalem as Palestine capital

AMMAN, Jordan – Jordan’s foreign minister says Arab states will push for international recognition of east Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital, after President Donald Trump last month recognized the contested city as Israel’s capital.

Ayman Safadi spoke after hosting five Arab foreign ministers and the head of the Arab League on Saturday, to decide on a joint Arab response to Trump.

Safadi says the Arab world would pursue a “global political decision to recognize the Palestinian state … with east Jerusalem as its capital.”

In 2012, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly recognized a state of Palestine in lands Israel captured in 1967, including east Jerusalem, as an observer state, but many Western countries stopped short of bilateral recognition.

Under a broad international consensus, the fate of Jerusalem is to be determined in negotiations.