RIYADH, 3 October — Saudi Arabia yesterday denounced a US law identifying Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying it would embolden the Jewish state to adopt even more hard-line policies against the Palestinians.
An official spokesman said the bill, which has been signed by US President George W. Bush, contravened international law and UN Security Council resolutions and contradicted US policy in the region.
The Kingdom "followed with deep concern and discomfort the news about the bill issued by the US Congress...which recognizes Jerusalem" as Israel’s capital, the spokesman said. The Kingdom "sees this decision as contravening international law and violating Security Council resolutions, including Resolutions 252 of 1968 and 267 of 1969...which call for reversing all measures that could change the status quo of Jerusalem," he added.
Saudi Arabia also said the bill would "send a wrong message to Israel by encouraging it to adopt stubborn and extremist policies and measures against the Palestinians, international law and UN resolutions."
The spokesman said the Kingdom was confident that the US administration would adopt measures to back Bush’s announcement on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. The Kingdom also called for leaving a decision on the status of Jerusalem to the final phase of peace negotiations.
US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Robert Jordan said there was no change in American policy toward Jerusalem. "Although the president signed the state authorization bill, which contained three provisions related to Jerusalem, his signing statement has made clear that the Jerusalem provisions impermissibly interfere with the president’s constitutional authority to conduct foreign affairs, and therefore will not be construed as binding," he said in a press statement.
The Gulf Cooperation Council added its voice to the chorus of Arab and Islamic condemnation of the US law. "The GCC expresses deep concern over the negative consequences of the bill in harming the Middle East peace process in general and the Palestinian cause in particular," the six-state alliance said in a statement.
The legislation "violates international law and the declared policy of the United States, which calls for deciding the status of Jerusalem through negotiations," the statement added.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said the law was a "catastrophe". "This decision is a catastrophe that Muslims and Christians should not let pass in silence," said Arafat, speaking in his compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah, which has been battered by successive Israeli sieges. "Jerusalem is something that touches...the whole international community. I am asking the American administration and the American president to stop this", he said.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher expressed Egypt’s "deep regret" over the law. "We deeply regret the adoption of this bill, especially in the current circumstances, this measures comes as an encouragement to Israel," Maher told reporters in Cairo.
