Updated at 4pm with Maltese government reaction

President Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was a precious gift to the so-called Islamic State, according to the Imam.

Relocating the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was an injustice against the Palestinian people, the true original owners of the whole historic Palestine,he said.

Mohammed El Sadi said in a statement that President Trump's act was one of defiance against 1.5 billion Muslims all over the world who believed that Jerusalem was as sacred as Mecca and against millions of Christians, Jews and other followers of faiths who did not acknowledge the "illegal Zionist" occupation.

“This unfortunate, unwise decision goes against all the resolutions of the UN Security Council. Balfour gave Palestine to Zionists and Trump gave them its capital.

"It is an announcement of peace death. Certainly it will increase the instability in the Middle East and will embarrass the allies of the US in the region. Such unjust attitude contradicts the values of freedom, democracy and the right of self-determination on which the US was based.

President Trump reversed decades of US policy on Wednesday despite warnings from around the world that the gesture further drives a wedge between Israel and the Palestinians.

“It is an act of political terrorism which is going to fuel more extremism and terrorism. It is really a precious gift to ISIS. I do not know how Trump will convince us to be his partners in fighting terrorism while he himself supports blindly the Zionist State terrorism,” the Imam asked.

He said it was a pity that the superpower which was capable to enforce justice and peace in the world was using its power to establish injustice and create wars.

"We call upon all good, just people to reject this unjust attitude and support the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people,” the Imam said.

The top leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas has called for a new uprising against Israel in the wake of President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Maltese government disagrees with move

The governmet later on Thursday issued a statement saying that Malta disagreed with the unilateral declaration made by the President of the United States on Jerusalem.

"Malta expresses its deep concern and firmly reiterates its position that the future status of Jerusalem must be mutually agreed upon by means of meaningful peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

"Malta maintains, in the strongest of terms, its support for the ‘Two-state solution’, which calls for the State of Israel to have West Jerusalem as its capital, and the State of Palestine to have East Jerusalem as its capital, and through which both states would live side by side in peace, security, and mutual recognition.

"In this context, actions which undermine prospects for the ‘Two-state solution’ and exacerbate instability in the region must be avoided," it said.

 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.