His Majesty King Abdullah on Saturday received the Arab ministerial delegation tasked with following up on the implications of the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the United States embassy there.

The delegation comprises foreign ministers Sameh Shoukry of Egypt, Riad Malki of Palestine, Adel Al Jubeir of Saudi Arabia, and Nasser Bourita of Morocco, as well as the United Arab Emirates’ minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, and Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

At the meeting, held at Al Husseiniya Palace, King Abdullah affirmed the importance of intensifying efforts and coordinating Arab positions to support the Palestinians in safeguarding their indelible historical and legal rights to Jerusalem, and in their efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

His Majesty noted that the issue of Jerusalem must be settled within the framework of a final solution and a just and lasting peace agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis, based on the two-state solution, and in accordance with international law and relevant UN resolutions, as well as the Arab Peace Initiative.

The King also stressed the importance of supporting the perseverance of Jerusalemites and preserving the Arab identity of Jerusalem, as well as safeguarding the city’s Islamic and Christian holy sites.

His Majesty called for building on the international consensus regarding the legal status of Jerusalem.

The King reaffirmed that Jordan, in line with the Hashemite Custodianship of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, will exert all efforts to undertake its religious and historical responsibility to safeguard the city’s Islamic and Christian holy places.

Discussions at the meeting also covered means to counter the implications of the US decision, as it violates international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, which affirm that the status of Jerusalem can only be decided through negotiations between the concerned parties.

All sides at the meeting agreed on the importance of intensifying efforts to create the political conditions conducive to making progress in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on bases that fulfil the rights of the Palestinian people to freedom and independent statehood, with East Jerusalem as their capital.

Royal Hashemite Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, and Director of the Office of His Majesty Jafar Hassan attended the meeting.

The Arab League had announced the formation of an Arab ministerial delegation comprising the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, as well as the Arab League’s secretary general, to follow up on the negative impact of the US Jerusalem decision and to expose its dangers vis-à-vis the city’s historical and religious stature for Arabs and Muslims.

The delegation was formed under the Arab League’s Resolution 8821, adopted by the Arab League Council Meeting at the Ministerial Level during an extraordinary session held last month at the request of Jordan and Palestine.