Bkirki Christian-Muslim Summit: Trump's Decision Provokes Over 3 Billion People

Christian and Muslim spiritual leaders meeting in Bkirki warned Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump's declaration on Jerusalem represents “a provocation against over three billion people which targets the core of their faith.”

The spiritual leaders “reject this decision and demand its reversal,” the summit's closing statement said.

Trump's decision “violates international laws and conventions and insults the symbolism of the city of Jerusalem as a unifying spiritual city,” the statement added.

The summit was called by Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, who said in opening remarks that the U.S. declaration is “an unjust decision against Palestinians, Arabs, Christians and Muslims.”

“It violates U.N. resolutions and international law,” al-Rahi lamented.

“We categorically reject the Judaization of this holy city,” he added.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan for his part underlined that “Jerusalem is not a land lot but rather the cause of Arabs which should be their first and central cause given its significance in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict.”

“We will support the Palestinians in their legitimate right to resistance, because what they are doing is not terrorism but rather a resistance against the land's occupiers and usurpers,” Daryan added.