Abbas Says East Jerusalem Is Capital of Palestine, Rejects US Role As Intermediary With Israel
"East Jerusalem can only be the capital of Palestine", said leader Mahmoud Abbas at an extraordinary meeting of the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization. He stressed that it was a final reply to Donald Trump's decision to transfer the US embassy to Jerusalem.
Abbas also said that the US assistance in Israeli-Palestinian talks is now completely out of the picture.
Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President: "There must be international mediation in political talks, not only the US one. We don't accept the USA as a mediator between us and Israel. We're saying no to Trump, we won't accept his project. The 'deal of the century' offered to us by the US, is a 'slap of the century".
Trump's decision to transfer the US embassy to Jerusalem was followed by several weeks of unrest, leaving at least a dozen Palestinians dead and a thousand wounded.