Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Meshaal al-Salami, on Monday said that Guatemala’s decision to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem came in response to US pressure on the countries in which it has certain economic interests.

Salami affirmed in a statement following his meeting with the Arab League secretary general, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, that this decision will change nothing on the ground, adding, “We have seen that the international community rejects the US recognition of Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the state of Palestine, as Israel’s capital.”

Salami explained that the Arab Parliament has a joint plan together with regional parliaments and parliaments of permanent member states of the UN Security Council to fend off the US decision targeting Occupied Jerusalem to which the UN conventions on occupied territories apply.

He pointed out that the meeting with Aboul Gheit addressed the great challenges facing the Arab nation, particularly the repercussions of the rejected US Jerusalem move.

The four committees of the Arab Parliament are scheduled to start their two-day meetings on Tuesday at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Arab League to discuss several issues concerning the Arab world.