NEW ORLEANS— The NOPSC (New Orleans Palestinian Solidarity Committee) held a press conference on the steps of City Hall on Perdido St.

They oppose President Donald Trump’s decision to name Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and they say they want to make sure that the city is not contracting with anyone who violates human rights.

NOPSC says Jerusalem was an international zone between countries, and the President’s decision was made just to agitate and provoke the Palestinian people. The group claims that thousands of Palestinians in New Orleans will be affected by this decision.

They say they’re the largest Arab population in the city, and many of them have not been able to get back to Jerusalem — and now they have even less access. Many will not be able to return.

They also believe this decision could result in the deaths of a number of Palestinians. The groups says they gave a list of demands to council members, and they said they would work with them, but the legislation has not been passed — that they say— would protect immigrants from harm, discrimination and human rights violations. They want the council to keep their promises and defend them.

“Earlier this year, City council members came outside and made promises to us to deliver on legislation that upholds the human rights of all residents of the greater New Orleans area, specifically Palestinians, and we have not seen any action on that, so we have gone through the trouble of actually writing proposed legislation ourselves, and we are just going to deliver it to them and ask that they sponsor this,” said Tabitha Mustafa with the NOPSC.

Both Israelis and Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their political capital and a sacred religious site.

The U.S. in the past has not taken sides, and decided it was up to Israelis and Palestinians to decide the city’s status. President Trump’s recent decision breaks that neutrality we have seen. NOPSC said they’ll hold another protest at Canal and Decatur Friday at 6:30 PM.