AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Monday urged the international community to “fulfil its responsibilities” toward Palestinians in Jerusalem and support the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
His comments, following a meeting with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, came after US President Donald Trump sparked Arab and Muslim outrage by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and suspended funds to UNRWA.
“The international community must fulfil its responsibilities to protect the rights of Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem,” Abdullah said, according to a palace statement.
The city is “the key to achieving peace and stability in the region,” he said.
East Jerusalem was under Jordanian adminstration before Israel occupied it during the 1967 Six-Day War.
Israel, which signed a peace treaty with Jordan in 1994, recognizes the kingdom’s status as custodian of the city’s holy sites.
Jordan in December called Trump’s move “a violation of decisions of international law and the United Nations charter.”
The Jordanian monarch also on Monday urged the international community to support the UN agency for Palestinians.
Earlier this month, the United States put on hold two planned payments of more than $100 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
The agency, set up after the 1948 creation of Israel that drove huge numbers of Palestinians from their homes, faces what the UN has described as the “most severe” crisis in its history.
Jordan king urges world to back Palestinian rights
Jordan king urges world to back Palestinian rights
