US Jerusalem plans ‘threaten world peace’: Al-Azhar

By Sobhi Mujahed

CAIRO (AA) – Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning in the Sunni Muslim world, has warned against U.S. plans to relocate the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and officially recognize the holy city as Israel’s capital.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Cairo-based institution said that the potential U.S. move would constitute “a threat to world peace”.

Such a move “would fuel sentiments of anger among Muslims, threaten world peace and deepen tension, division and hatred in the world,” it warned.

The prestigious institution went on to underline the Arab identity of Jerusalem, calling on Arab and Islamic nations to rally to prevent the U.S. move.

Last week, the U.S. media reported that U.S. President Donald Trump was mulling the imminent relocation of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the formal recognition of the city as Israel’s capital.

Jerusalem remains at the core of the perennial Israel-Palestine conflict, as Palestinians want Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

During his election, Trump promised to relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.