Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Slams U.S.’s Decision To Move Its Embassy To Jerusalem at Arab Summit

At the opening of Arab League summit, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz emphatically stated that East Jerusalem is an 'integral part' of the Palestinian territories.

Seventeen heads of state from across the Arab world -- minus Syrian President Bashar al-Assad -- gathered in the eastern Saudi city of Dhahran for the 29th Arab League summit at the Ithra center in Dhahran, Eastern Saudi Arabia, on April 15, 2018. The summit comes as world powers face off over Syria and tensions rise between Riyadh and Tehran. The meeting opened only 24 hours after a barrage of strikes launched by the United States, Britain and France hit targets they said were linked to chemical weapons development in Syria, which was suspended from the league seven years ago.

But King Salman avoided any mention of Syria in his address, as a seat marked "Syrian Arab Republic" sat empty in the hall. Instead the king focused on two countries – ally United States and long-time foe Iran. The ruler criticised U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and shift the U.S. embassy there. "We reiterate our rejection of the U.S. decision on Jerusalem," Salman said. "East Jerusalem is an integral part of the Palestinian territories."

The king said he had named this year's meeting "the Jerusalem summit so that the entire world knows Palestine and its people remain at the heart of Arab concerns". King Salman also announced a $150 million donation for the maintenance of Islamic heritage which includes the Al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem.

Earlier this month, the monarch reiterated the kingdom's "steadfast stance on the Palestinian issue and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital". His comments came just days after his son, powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, told reporters during a US tour that Israel also had a "right" to its own state.

King Salman also denounced Iran for 'blatant interference' in other countries. "We renew our strong condemnation of Iran's terrorist acts in the Arab region and reject its blatant interference in the affairs of Arab countries," the king said. Saudi Arabia is pushing for a tough, unified stance against Iran at the annual gathering of the 22-member Arab League.

The two regional powers back opposing sides in a range of hotspots across the Middle East, including Lebanon and Syria and in Saudi Arabia's southern neighbour Yemen.

Iran is backing Shiite Huthi rebels that Riyadh opposes in Yemen and on Sunday Salman praised "the UN Security Council's statement denouncing the Iranian-made ballistic missile fire on Saudi cities." Last month the Security Council issued a statement condemning Huthi missile attacks on Saudi, but did not name Iran.

The summit also comes with Saudi Arabia and Qatar locked in a months-long diplomatic standoff, with Riyadh accusing Doha of supporting Islamist extremists and being too close to Iran.

Tensions have eased slightly in recent months but Qatar still only sent its representative to the Arab League to the Dhahran summit.

However, Syria's war, the most complex of the region's conflicts, is the main point of contention pitting Riyadh and its allies, who mainly back Sunni rebels, against regime backer Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. Gulf Arab states have made massive donations to Syria but have not officially offered asylum to Syrians. (With Agency inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 15, 2018 11:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).