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Egyptian churches insist Jerusalem is a Palestinian Arab city

December 9, 2017 at 12:55 pm

Christians living in Cairo attend a religious mass at the Kasr El Dobara Evangelical Church to celebrate New year in Cairo, Egypt on December 31, 2016 [Mohamed El Raai / Anadolu Agency]

The leading Protestant Christian in Egypt insisted on Friday that Jerusalem is a Palestinian Arab city, Anadolu has reported. “It is inevitable that it will return to Palestinian sovereignty,” added Reverend Dr Andrea Zaki, the President of the Protestant Community of Egypt and General Director of the Coptic Evangelical Organisation for Social Services.

Rev. Zaki called for the nations and states which care about peace to work towards maintaining the Arab identity of Jerusalem because it is the place of the three monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. “The American decision has hurt the feelings of millions of Arabs, Muslims and Christians,” he pointed out. “This decision will never change the fact that Jerusalem is occupied.”

According to the senior theologian, he has been in constant contact with international church organisations in an effort to mobilise support for the Palestinians “at this decisive moment” and “to reiterate that Jerusalem is an Arab city.”

Read: Egypt minster calls for opening Arab embassies in Palestine’s Jerusalem

The Orthodox Church in Egypt said this week that recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would lead to “dangerous threats” and “have a negative effect on the stability of the Middle East and the whole world.”

Meanwhile, the Global Council of Churches said that Trump’s decision about Jerusalem “will lead to disappointment, increase tension and diminish hopes of a peaceful solution for the Palestinian issue.”

Read: Ex-Top Gear star Jeremy Clarkson to Palestine: Announce London as the capital of America

While the international community has almost unanimously disagreed with Donald Trump’s announcement, reports suggest that the announcement was done with the pre-agreement of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, with the Saudi Arabia going as far as, allegedly, stating to the Palestinian President to accept a village on the outskirts of Jerusalem as the alternative Palestinian capital.

Since the announcement, Saudi Arabia’s royal court has sent notices to the nation’s media outlets to limit the airtime given to protests against Trump’s announcement.

Israel TV: Saudi Arabia, Egypt gave Trump green light regarding Jerusalem