Arab League to meet over 'illegal' US embassy move to Jerusalem

The Arab League will hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss the United State's "illegal" move of embassy to Jerusalem, state news agency MENA reported on Monday, citing an Arab diplomat.

MENA said the meeting will be held on Wednesday at the level of permanent representatives to the Arab League "to counter the illegal decision taken by the United States of America to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem."

The U.S. opens its embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, a move that has delighted Israel and infuriated Palestinians.

The opening ceremony is at a U.S. consular building in the Arnona neighborhood. It will house an interim embassy for the ambassador and a small staff until a larger site is found.

The compound cuts across the 1949 Armistice Line that separated West Jerusalem from No Man's Land, which Israel captured in the 1967 Six Day War and has held under occupation ever since.

The embassy move follows U.S. President Donald Trump's decision last December to break with decades of U.S. policy and recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the decision, saying it reflected that "the Jewish people have had a capital for 3,000 years, and that it is called Jerusalem."

But the move upset the Arab world and Western allies. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called it a "slap in the face" and said the United States can no longer be regarded as an honest broker in any peace talks with Israel.