Egypt rejects Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital

CAIRO, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday rejected the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and to move the U.S. embassy to the disputed holy city.

His remarks came during a phone call he received from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the U.S. decision announced Wednesday by President Donald Trump, Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement.

Sisi and Abbas discussed possible repercussions of the U.S. step in light of its violation of international resolutions on the legal status of Jerusalem, a holy city for Muslims, Jews and Christians.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump announced that he 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.

Jerusalem lies at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Trump's controversial move is expected to enrage the Muslim world, which has already warned of serious consequences.

While Israel took over East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war and declared the whole city as its eternal indivisible capital in 1980, it has not been recognized by the international community.

The Palestinians insist that they should establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital in the final settlement.

Under the previous Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, the status of Jerusalem should be determined through the final-status talks between Israel and the Palestinians. All countries, including the U.S., have so far located their embassies in Tel Aviv, in order to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Trump's three predecessors halted the relocation of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem despite the passage of a law by U.S. Congress in 1995 to do so, citing it could derail the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

There has been rising concern in Israel that the American recognition would lead to a fresh round of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, who are already despaired with the peace process stalled since 2014 due to Israel's policy to expand settlements in the Palestinian territories. Enditem