1st LD-Writethru: Egypt condemns U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital

CAIRO, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Egypt condemned the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Egypt rejects this move as well as the relocation of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, the statement said.

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. formally recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, while ordering to immediately begin the process of relocating the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Egypt reiterated that such unilateral decisions violate the international legitimacy, adding such decisions will not change the legal status of Jerusalem as an occupied city.

Egypt also referred to many Jerusalem-related resolutions taken by the international legitimacy, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 of 1967, which demands Israeli withdrawal from the territories occupied in 1967, including Jerusalem.

There is also the UNSC Resolution 478 of 1980 that rejected Israel's attempted annexation of Jerusalem as well as its declaring the city as Israel's capital, the statement said.

The statement said that Egypt is extremely concerned over the possible consequences of this decision on the stability of the region, warning that it will stir the feelings of the Arab and Islamic peoples for the historical, spiritual and cultural status of Jerusalem.

The decision will also have negative impacts on the future of the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis, as Jerusalem is one of its major issues, according to the statement.

It highlighted the dangers of this decisions over the future of the peace process amid the exerted efforts to resume peace talks between the Palestinian and Israeli sides to achieve just and comprehensive peace that would give the Palestinians an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the ultimate questions of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, which was stalled since April 2014 following nine months of U.S.-sponsored talks without progress.

The status of the city is not settled as the Palestinians want to make East Jerusalem, occupied by Israeli in 1967, the capital of their future state, while Israel declared the integrity of Jerusalem as its capital, a claim not recognized by the international community. Enditem