What options as Arab states discuss US embassy move to Jerusalem

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Arab foreign ministers are meeting on Thursday in Cairo to discuss steps to take following the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem and recognize the city as the capital of Israel.

In December, President Donald Trump announced he wanted to relocate the embassy from Tel Aviv, reversing decades of US policy. The move could happen as soon as 2019, according to Vice President Mike Pence.

WHO SAID WHAT?

Reactions around the Middle East and further afield were overwhelmingly critical after Trump made his announcement on December 6, but it also drew praise from Israel, while Guatemala said it would follow in the US footsteps and also relocate its embassy.

US President Donald Trump (L) and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shake hands in Jerusalem, May 22, 2017. /VCG Photo

Israelis

The close US ally welcomed Trump’s decision, which strengthens its claims over Jerusalem against Palestinian efforts to make East Jerusalem the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Meeting with Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again praised the "historic decision that will be forever etched in the hearts of our people for generations to come."

The embassy move "pushes peace forward, because it recognizes history, it recognizes the present reality," he added in comments reported by the Times of Israel (TOI).

Palestinians

On the other side, the US declaration last December was greeted with a "day of rage". At least four people were killed as protests in Gaza and the West Bank descended into violence and Israeli Defense Forces hit back with force.

Palestinian demonstrators place their national flag on top of a house during clashes with Israeli security forces on January 13, 2018, in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. /VCG Photo

The unrest has since died down but speaking in Cairo last month, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned: "Jerusalem will be a gate for peace only if it is Palestine’s capital, and it will be a gate of war, fear and the absence of security and stability, God forbid, if it is not," TOI reported.

Arabs

Arab states, wary of any move that could further inflame the situation in an already fraught Middle East, convened emergency meetings in December to come up with joint responses to the US announcement.

In Cairo, the Arab League condemned what it called a "dangerous violation of international law," adding that it "deepens tension, ignites anger and threatens to plunge region into more violence and chaos."

Jordan's King Abdullah II (R) welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Royal Palace in Amman, January 29, 2018. /VCG Photo

The 57-state Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) echoed these remarks days later in Istanbul, saying the US decision was "a deliberate undermining of all peace efforts, an impetus to extremism and terrorism, and a threat to international peace and security."

United Nations

The UN adopted a resolution on December 21, declaring the US move "null and void" and urging Washington to rescind it.

A total 128 countries backed the resolution, while 35 abstained and only nine stood by the US position.

The United Nations General Assembly votes at UN Headquarters in New York, US, December 21, 2017. /VCG Photo‍

WHAT STEPS CAN ARAB STATES TAKE?

Get recognition

To counter Washington’s embassy relocation, Arab states have been pushing for the international recognition of Palestine as a state and East Jerusalem as its capital.

At an Arab League meeting last month in Amman, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi announced: "We will confront the decision by seeking a (UN) resolution, an international one, to recognize a Palestinian state on 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital."

The League has now set up a special delegation made up of the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Palestine, as well as the League’s secretary-general to respond to the Jerusalem embassy issue.

The UN has so far been the most effective forum to achieve recognition for Palestine. In 2011, it became a full-time member of the UN cultural body UNESCO. Since 2012, it has also been a non-member observer state in the General Assembly. This does not however afford it a right to vote.

Palestine's Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour (C) attends a General Assembly meeting at UN Headquarters in New York, December 21, 2017. /VCG Photo

Over 130 countries in the world already recognize Palestine as a state, according to its UN mission, but this does not include the US, Canada, Japan, Australia and most of the European Union.

Sanctions

At the Arab League’s December meeting, Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil threatened "diplomatic measures, then political, then economic and financial sanctions" against the US in response to its embassy move.

So far however, these have yet to materialize.

Sit tight, wait for it to pass

While Arab states have been vocal in their support for the Palestinian cause, observers warn their commitment might not go further than that.

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE, Morocco and Palestine, as well as Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit pose during a meeting in the Jordanian capital Amman on January 6, 2018. /VCG Photo

Iran’s increasing influence in the region and its involvement in conflicts in Yemen and Syria have put it in direct opposition to regional powers like Saudi Arabia, which now find themselves increasingly siding with Israel, Tehran’s sworn enemy.

As a result, they are unlikely to want to push too hard against Tel Aviv.

"All the statements being made by the Arab regimes are strictly for public consumption," Ali Abunimah co-founder of online news site Electronic Intifada, already told Al Jazeera in December.

"In reality, most of these regimes - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan - are very close to Israel… and so they will do nothing in practice other than issue statements."

Thursday's meeting in Cairo will bring together foreign ministers from the Arab League.

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