Jordanian FM, EU's Mogherini discuss Jerusalem

By Laith Joneidi, Afra Aksoy and Gulsen Topcu

AMMAN - Jordan’s foreign minister and the European Union's foreign policy chief discussed Jerusalem over the phone Monday and agreed on the need to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of a two-state solution.

In a written statement, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said Ayman Safadi and Federica Mogherini addressed the results of a meeting of the Arab League ministerial working group hosted by Jordan on Saturday.

Safadi told Mogherini the Arab countries that opposed the U.S.’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital had reached a consensus on working together with the international community to recognize the Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The ministerial working group, which comprised the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Palestine and Morocco, also proposed finding an alternative mediator in the Middle East peace process following the U.S. decision on Jerusalem.

In addition, they agreed on the need to intensify efforts for a political solution to end the Palestinian-Israeli dispute by discussing ways to counter the U.S. move.

Last week, Jerusalem’s Knesset, or parliament, passed a bill making it necessary to obtain the approval of 80 out of 120 assembly members -- rather than a simple majority -- to change Jerusalem’s official status or municipal boundaries.

The move followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision last month to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, drawing international condemnation, including in a UN resolution spearheaded by Turkey.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Middle East conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- might eventually serve as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.