Egypt convinced 128 countries to defy Trump: Louh

CAIRO – 1 January 2018: Ambassador of Palestine to Egypt and its Permanent Representative to the Arab League Diab al-Louh lauded the Egyptian diplomacy that “succeeded in managing the Palestinian crisis.”

In a seminar in Ain Shams University on Saturday, Louh said that Egypt could convince 128 countries to vote against U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Louh affirmed the Palestinian leadership’s intention to join international bodies outside the context of a final status agreement signed with former President Barack Obama’s administration in exchange for not moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

Palestine canceled all previous deals with the U.S., according to Louh, as the U.S. did not keep the promises it had made, and abandoned the Peace Process.

Affirming the collapse of the so-called “Deal of The Century,” Louh said that the Palestinian leadership cut all contacts with the U.S., rejecting U.S. interference in the political process between the two parties of the conflict.

On December 18, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned that Palestine may apply for membership in all international organizations. “There are 522 organizations we have the right to join,” Abbas stated.

Defying Trump, 128 countries voted on December 21 in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for the United States to drop its December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Former economic adviser to late President Yasser Arafat, Mohamed Rachid, wrote on Twitter: “Egypt gathered the whole world for the sake of Jerusalem and the holy sites, for Palestine and the Palestinians, with smart diplomacy and precise formulation of the draft resolution.”