Abbas threatens to cancel recognition of Israel if US embassy is transferred to Jerusalem
Headline: “The [PA] president [Abbas] calls on participants in the Paris Conference to take tangible steps to implement the international decisions – transferring the American embassy will hinder the peace process, and canceling our recognition of Israel will be one of our options”
“[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday [Jan. 14, 2017] inaugurated the Palestinian embassy at the Vatican. He met with Pope Francis, and again warned against the plan of US President-elect Donald Trump to transfer the American embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem. During the inauguration of the embassy… the president again emphasized his opposition to the possibility that the American embassy will be transferred to Jerusalem, and said: ‘The Palestinians are waiting to see what will happen. We hope that this is not true, because it will hinder the peace process.’
President Abbas emphasized that he ‘extends his hand to President-elect Trump for cooperation in order to reach peace on the basis of international law.’ He added that ‘any attempt to give legal validity to the illegal annexation of Jerusalem by Israel will eliminate the prospects of the political process, dispel the hopes of a solution based on two states, and encourage the extremism in our region and in the world.’ …
In an interview that was published yesterday in the French paper Le Figaro, President Abbas said that he wrote to Trump and warned him of the consequences of the transfer of the embassy, and noted that this ‘will not only negate any legitimacy of the US to fill a role in settling the conflict, but will also annihilate the two-state solution.’
He added that the Palestinians will discuss several options for a response, after consultations are held with Arab states, and said: ‘Cancelling our recognition of Israel will be one of them, but we hope that we will not reach that, and that instead we will be able to work with the next American administration.’”
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A similar item appeared on official PA TV News on Jan. 14, 2017.
“[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday [Jan. 14, 2017] inaugurated the Palestinian embassy at the Vatican. He met with Pope Francis, and again warned against the plan of US President-elect Donald Trump to transfer the American embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem. During the inauguration of the embassy… the president again emphasized his opposition to the possibility that the American embassy will be transferred to Jerusalem, and said: ‘The Palestinians are waiting to see what will happen. We hope that this is not true, because it will hinder the peace process.’
President Abbas emphasized that he ‘extends his hand to President-elect Trump for cooperation in order to reach peace on the basis of international law.’ He added that ‘any attempt to give legal validity to the illegal annexation of Jerusalem by Israel will eliminate the prospects of the political process, dispel the hopes of a solution based on two states, and encourage the extremism in our region and in the world.’ …
In an interview that was published yesterday in the French paper Le Figaro, President Abbas said that he wrote to Trump and warned him of the consequences of the transfer of the embassy, and noted that this ‘will not only negate any legitimacy of the US to fill a role in settling the conflict, but will also annihilate the two-state solution.’
He added that the Palestinians will discuss several options for a response, after consultations are held with Arab states, and said: ‘Cancelling our recognition of Israel will be one of them, but we hope that we will not reach that, and that instead we will be able to work with the next American administration.’”
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A similar item appeared on official PA TV News on Jan. 14, 2017.
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