Abbas warns Trump that the highly contentious move will have ‘dangerous consequences’ and holds an emergency meeting as Trump speaks with Netanyahu and Jordan’s King Abdullah
Roji Kurd: U.S. President Donald Trump informed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah that he plans to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Tuesday, according to Abbas’ spokesman and Jordanian reports.
Abbas warned Trump that the action will have “dangerous consequences.”
Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said “The Palestinian stance is determined and steadfast – there will not be a Palestinian state without East Jerusalem as its capital according to decisions by the international community. Abu Mazen [Abbas] is now holding an emergency meeting in his bureau following the phone conversation with Trump.”
U.S. endorsement of Israel’s claim to all of Jerusalem as its capital would break with decades of U.S. policy that the city’s status must be decided in negotiations with the Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. The international community does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the entire city.
Abbas joined a mounting chorus of voices saying the U.S. move could unleash turmoil.
“President Mahmoud Abbas received a telephone call from U.S. President Donald Trump in which he notified the president of his intention to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah said.
The statement did not say whether Trump, who was also due to talk to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordan’s King Abdullah on Tuesday, specified the timing of such a move.
Abbas “warned of the dangerous consequences such a decision would have to the peace process and to the peace, security and stability of the region and of the world,” Abu Rdainah said.
Israeli Intelligence Minister Israel Katz, who met last week with U.S. officials in Washington, told Israel’s Army Radio: “My impression is that the president will recognize Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people for 3,000 years, as the capital of the state of Israel.”
According to Jordanian reports, Abdullah warned Trump of the decision’s repercussions on Middle East security and stability.
He reportedly pledged that he would thwart any American initiative to renew the peace process and would encourage rage and resistance among Muslims and Christians alike.
An Abbas aide commented Tuesday that if the Trump Administration decides to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the Palestinian leadership would sever ties with the U.S. administration.
Comments
