Bahrain participates in Arab League ministerial meeting

Assistant Foreign Minister, Abdulla bin Faisal bin Jabur Al Doseri, took part in the Arab League Meeting at the Ministerial Level in its Extraordinary Session, which was held here yesterday at the headquarters of the General Secretariat? in Cairo.

The meeting discussed the announcement by President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and transfer the American embassy to it.

The Assistant Foreign Minister delivered a speech during the opening session in which he stated that the US Administration’s decision came in a critical time in which the Arab Nation is facing several political, economic and security challenges. He noted that the decision contradicts the US commitment to the two-state solution, adding that this move adds up to the challenges and complications in the region. He urged the members of the Arab League to take a firm stance against the issues threatening the security of the region.

The Foreign Minister affirmed that the Kingdom of Bahrain considers the decision a threat to the peace process in the Middle East and that it hinders the ongoing negotiations for a final solution, adding that the decision violates the international resolutions that stress the rights of the Palestinian people and that Jerusalem is an occupied land.

He urged the international community to shoulder its responsibility according to the UN charter and the principles of International Law, calling for concerted efforts to stop the implementation of this decision.

The Assistant Foreign Minister reiterated the supportive stance of the Kingdom of Bahrain towards the brotherly Palestinian people and their legitimate right to establish their independent state on the borders of June 4, 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital and the return of refugees in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy and the two-state solution. He urged the members of the Arab League to increase the efforts against this decision and defend the historical and religious identity of Jerusalem. He also asked the Arab Group to the United Nation in New York to increase their diplomatic efforts, including the request to resume the tenth Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly to take a firm decision regarding this issue.

The Assistant Foreign Minister attended the meeting of the Arab Peace Initiative Committee (in which the Kingdom of Bahrain in a member) before the Extraordinary Session. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan chaired this meeting which was held in order to consult and coordinate the outcomes of the emergency meeting.

At the end of the meeting, the Council of the Arab League issued a resolution rejecting the decision of the United States of America to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to transfer its embassy to it, considering it null and void. It also called upon all countries to recognize the Palestinian State on the boarders of June 4, 1967, and to work on getting a resolution from the Security Council that confirms that the United States decision contradicts the resolutions of international legitimacy, and that there is no legal effect for this decision. The Arab Initiative Committee was mandated to form a delegation of its members to work with the international community and the international institutions in this regard, and the General Secretariat of the Arab League was entrusted with the preparation of an international media plan clarifying the seriousness of the decision.

Source: BNA