Foreign Minister Says Arab Failure to Take Action Encouraged US Move on Jerusalem

Cairo, MINA – Foreign and Expatriates Minister Riyad Malki stressed on Thursday that the Arabs’ failure to carry out their decisions over the past decades has encouraged the United States to continue with its unfortunate approach and to make its decision on Jerusalem.

“Our failure has also encouraged a small country like Guatemala to decide to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem,” Malki told WAFA after his participation in the 149th ordinary session of the Arab League at the level of foreign ministers in Cairo, which concluded its meetings on Wednesday.

He revealed that the Guatemalan foreign minister said she would not accept any Arab pressure on her country to cancel its decision to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem two days after the US move in May, “simply because she is fully aware that the Arab countries do not have any means to pressure Guatemala to go back on its decision on moving the embassy to Jerusalem.”

Malki said that “this audacity from Guatemala came only after realizing that the Arabs are unable to carry out the decisions they have adopted for so many years. If we are unable to carry out such decisions, how could we prevent Guatemala or any other country from taking such a step (over Jerusalem)?”

The Arab countries have repeatedly threatened in their summits to cut diplomatic ties with any country that recognizes Jerusalem as capital of Israel or move its embassy there.

However, when the US made that decision on December 6, no Arab action was taken against it other than to condemn it in statements or by voting in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution denouncing the US move. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)