Abbas hails Qatar's opposition stance to US Jerusalem decision

Doha, Dec 18 : Visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas praised on Sunday Qatar's outright rejection to US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Abbas made the remarks at his meeting with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, during which the Qatari leader stressed his country's firm stance of supporting the Palestinian cause and rights.

According to Xinhua, the emir lauded the progress that Palestinians have achieved to establish their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the resolutions of international legitimacy and the two-state solution backed by the international community.

Qatar has close ties with the US, which has its largest military base in the Middle East in Doha for launching anti-terror attacks.

Israel took over East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war and declared the whole city as its eternal capital in 1980.

But the Palestinians insist that East Jerusalem should be the capital of their future independent state.

On December 6, Trump announced his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, tossing aside 70 years of US neutrality on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.