Jerusalem's
Grand Mufti on Friday branded plans by President-elect Donald Trump to
move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem an "assault" on
Muslims across the globe.
"The
pledge to move the embassy is not just an assault against Palestinians
but against Arabs and Muslims, who will not remain silent," Muhammad
Hussein said in a sermon at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City.
On
Tuesday, Palestinian leaders called for Friday prayers at mosques
across the Middle East this week to protest Trump's campaign pledge.
There
have been warnings that the move would constitute recognising Jerusalem
as Israel's capital and could inflame tensions in the Middle East and
possibly sink what remains of peace efforts.
"The
transfer of the embassy violates international charters and norms which
recognise Jerusalem as an occupied city," Hussein said in his sermon,
avoiding mentioning Trump by name.
The Palestinians regard east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while Israel proclaims the entire city as its capital.The city's status is one of the thorniest issues of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967. It later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.
Mohammad
Shtayyeh, a senior Palestinian official and Fatah central committee
member, said on Tuesday that the Palestinian leadership had been
informed by diplomatic contacts that Trump could call for the move in
his inauguration speech on January 20.
The
Palestinians have added the issue to the agenda of a meeting of foreign
ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on January 19 in
Malaysia, he added.
Source: AFP, Agensi
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