Jordan’s king cancels Romania trip over al-Quds row

AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II cancelled a visit on Monday to Romania after its prime minister vowed to move her country’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Occupied al-Quds, his office said.

The king "decided to cancel his visit to Romania which was due to begin on Monday in solidarity with Occupied al-Quds" following the announcement by Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, a royal court statement said.

Dancila’s promise, made on Sunday at the annual conference of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC in Washington, broke with the position of both the European Union and her own president.

"I, as prime minister of Romania, and the government that I run, will move our embassy to Occupied al-Quds," said Dancila, whose country holds the EU’s rotating chairmanship. The move would align Romania with the United States which moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Occupied al-Quds last year, sparking international criticism and Palestinian and Arab anger. International consensus holds that the status of Occupied al-Quds -- one of the thorniest issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- must first be decided through negotiations between the two sides.