Bangladesh registers ire over Jerusalem decision

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed speaks with a reporter during the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, US September 18, 2017. (Reuters)

DHAKA: Bangladesh has expressed shock and grave concern over US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called the decision “unacceptable” during a press briefing in Dhaka on Thursday and diplomats and Islamic political leaders in the country have voiced their resentment on various platforms.
“Trump’s decision regarding Jerusalem is not at all acceptable to anyone in the Muslim world,” said Hasina. She urged the Muslim world to stand united for the rights of the Palestinian people.
Trump’s “arbritary” decision “will destabilize the harmony of different communities across the world,” she said. “There is a UN resolution and, in accordance with the resolution, no one can make or accept such an announcement.”
In a separate statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, Bangladesh reiterated its stand on Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state, according to the border of 1967.
Hefajote Islam — an umbrella group of Islamic movements in Bangladesh — has announced it will stage a mass protest march on the US Embassy in Dhaka on Wednesday against Trump’s announcement.
“Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque belong to the Muslims. It is a prestige point for Muslims,” Mufti Foijullah, joint secretary-general of Hefajote Islam, told Arab News. “Trump’s announcement is an insult to the beliefs and spirit of all Muslims.”
Various Islamic bodies in Bangladesh are gearing up for a huge protest next Friday to register the anger that the US announcement has caused.
“The Middle East peace process has been in stalemate for a long time. This announcement has tarnished its last hope,” Shomsher Mobin Chowdhury, former foreign secretary and ambassador to the US, told Arab News. “After this decision, the US has lost its moral ground to mediate the peace process.”
“We always stood in favor of Palestinian rights. We believe Jerusalem is Palestine’s capital. I am deeply shocked at Trump’s decision,” Munshi Faej Ahmed, chairman of the Bangladesh Institute of International Strategic Studies, told Arab News.
“Now the Middle East peace process has been completely jeopardized; earlier, it was in a coma but the US has killed it altogether,” Ahmed said. “A new start will be required, considering the present scenario.”