Egyptian American Community to stage protests over Jerusalem

CAIRO – 9 December 2017: Egyptian American Community announced it would stage mass protests against U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital after the decision sparked waves of protests.

Raafat Rashwan, head of the Egyptian American Community in Washington D.C., affirmed that they received the security permit to demonstrate in downtown, which will witness the participation of many other nationalities as well as Americans.

He added that many American citizens were outraged by Trump's decision because it would contribute to an increase in terrorist operations against Americans in different countries. Rashwan said he expects large numbers of Arab and American citizens to participate in the demonstrations, which will be organized in coordination with other Arab-American communities.

Thousands of people in different Arab and Muslim-majority countries protested against the decision that broke long-standing U.S. policy in the Middle East.

U.S. allies, from Germany and Saudi Arabia to Britain and the European Union, have condemned Trump's decision and said it would hinder peace negotiations in the region.

Nevertheless, Security Council members pushed back against Trump’s announcement on December 6, which also included a vow to shift the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a process that could take three to four years to complete.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also attacked Trump’s decision and described it as "unhelpful" for the peace process, echoing British Prime Minister Theresa May, who vowed to confront Trump over his controversial announcement.

Johnson stressed that the U.K. still believes that the status of Jerusalem must be resolved as part of a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Egypt's U.N. ambassador, Amr Aboulatta, said the U.S. decision would have "a grave, negative impact" on peace efforts.

U.N. Middle East Envoy Nickolay Mladenov said there was a "serious risk" of an escalation of violence in the region in reaction to the decision, which "can only push us further away from achieving our shared goal of peace."

In the region and elsewhere, protests continued for a second straight day.