Arab leaders call on world nations to recognize Palestine as state

By Hazem Balousha WASHINGTON POST DECEMBER 09, 2017

GAZA CITY — Arab leaders on Saturday called on world nations to recognize the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital in response to President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and the death toll from violence linked to the decision rose to four.

Addressing a meeting of the Arab League in Cairo, Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, head of the League, said Trump’s decision ‘‘condemned’’ the United States and the president’s administration, the Associated Press reported.

‘‘The decision amounts to the legalization of occupation,’’ said Aboul-Gheit, alluding to the occupation and later annexation of East Jerusalem by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. It also raised doubts about Washington’s role as a peace mediator in the region, he said.

Plestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki also urged world nations to recognize Palestine as a an independent state, the AP said.

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