Cairo,
The Arab League chief has said a decision by US President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would boost fanaticism and violence, and not serve the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East peace envoy Jared Kushner told the Saban Forum on Sunday the President is close to a decision on whether to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

“It is unfortunate that some are insisting on carrying out this step without any regard to the dangers it carries to the stability of the Middle East and the whole world,” Ahmed Abul Gheit, head of the Arab League, told reporters in Cairo.

Abul Gheit said the Arab League is closely following the issue and is in contact with the Palestinian authorities and Arab states to coordinate the Arab position if Trump takes the step.

Trump must decide today whether to sign a legal waiver that would delay plans to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for another six months.

Every US president has done this since 1995, judging the time not ripe for such a move, and Trump is expected to begrudgingly do so for a second time this week.

But, according to diplomats and observers, he is also now expected to announce in a speech on Wednesday that he supports Israel’s claim on Jerusalem as its capital.

Palestinian leaders are lobbying desperately against such a move, fearing it could provoke such fury in the Arab world it could sink peace hopes for a generation.

“Nothing justifies this act… it will not serve peace or stability, instead it will nourish fanaticism and violence,” said Abul Gheit.

The move would “benefit only one side, which is the anti-peace Israeli government,” he told reporters.

Israel occupied east Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967.

It later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.

President Mahmoud Abbas’ comments came amid a diplomatic push by the Palestinian leader to rally international support against the possible American move later this week.

“Any American step related to the recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, or moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, represents a threat to the future of the peace process and is unacceptable for the Palestinians, Arabs and internationally,” Abbas told a group of visiting Arab lawmakers from Israel, according to the official Wafa news agency.

American officials have said President Donald Trump may recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital this week as a way to offset his likely decision to delay his campaign promise of moving the US Embassy there.

Israel regards Jerusalem as its capital, with most government functions, including the prime minister’s office, Supreme Court and parliament, located in the holy city.

But the international community says the city’s status should be determined through peace talks. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967, as their capital.

Abbas’ spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdeneh, said late Saturday that the president has been in touch with Arab and world leaders to rally opposition against any American move on Jerusalem.

He said Abbas had been in contact with leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and France.

“We believe that such an American step, if it takes place, will enter the region in a new course, and a dangerous phase whose results cannot be controlled,” he said.

The White House, led by Trump’s adviser and son in law, Jared Kushner, has held months of meetings with leaders across the region ahead of an expected peace initiative.

While the proposal is expected to be regional in scope, little is known about the details, including whether Trump will continue the policies of recent predecessors in supporting the notion of an independent Palestinian state.

Kushner said yesterday that Trump has not yet decided whether to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital or whether to proceed immediately in moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city. “He is still looking at a lot of different facts,” Kushner said at the Saban Forum, an annual Mideast policy conference in Washington.