PA threat: Trump will blow up the peace process
PA threat: Trump will blow up the peace process
if he moves the American embassy to Jerusalem
Abbas: Embassy move will "destroy the peace process"
Fatah spokesman in Europe: It will "fan the flames
of the Arab and Muslim world"
Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
The Palestinian Authority continues to threaten violence as part of its intensive campaign to prevent US President-elect Donald Trump from moving the American embassy to Jerusalem. The official PA daily printed the above cartoon, entitled "Transferring the embassy," which shows Trump using a golf club to putt a lit bomb into a hole as if it were a golf ball. A dove symbolizing peace is looking out of the hole, next to which stands a flag with "Jerusalem" written on it in Arabic and English. [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 18, 2017]
PA Chairman Abbas stated explicitly that if Trump moves the embassy, it will "destroy the peace process":
"We want to hear what he says when he enters the White House - but if this step is taken, it will destroy the peace process."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 19, 2017]
"Transferring the embassy will be not just provocative but beyond provocative, and will harm the entire peace process.'"
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Jan. 17, 2017]
Palestinian Media Watch has reported at length on the threats and warnings of PA and Fatah leaders that religious war will break out, should Trump follow through on his promise.
Adding to the protests, Fatah Spokesman in Europe Jamal Nazzal said the embassy transfer would arouse "the rage of the world":
"Fatah Spokesman in Europe Jamal Nazzal... warned that the rage of the world will burn, and that the gates of the conflict will open to the unknown if it is transferred... He expressed hope that [US President-elect Donald] Trump will act with the necessary level of responsibility, and said: 'If he does not do so, it will fan the flames of the Arab and Muslim world, and will create rifts between him and other international parties.'"
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 19, 2017]
The following are longer excerpts of the statements mentioned above:
Headline: "The [PA] president: We adhere to peace, and transferring the American embassy to Jerusalem will destroy the peace process"
"During a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart, [Polish President Andrzej Duda, PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas] warned against transferring the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He said that this would destroy the peace process, and added: 'We have heard things from American President-elect (Donald) Trump, but as of now we have not officially heard about the transfer of the American embassy to Jerusalem.'
He added: 'We want to hear what he says when he enters the White House - but if this step is taken, it will destroy the peace process.' He added: 'We are not getting ahead of ourselves... it is better that we wait until he enters the White House and we hear from him directly as president of the US. Then there will be a response to every action, and if he decides to transfer the embassy to Jerusalem we will have a political and diplomatic response. We hope that it will not happen.'
The president emphasized his adherence to peace as an option from which there is no return. He noted that this year is likely to be the last opportunity to speak and act for the implementation of the two-state solution."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 19, 2017]
Headline: "Nazzal: Transferring the American embassy to Jerusalem will arouse the rage of the world"
"Fatah Spokesman in Europe Jamal Nazzal said that transferring the American embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem is an illegal and illogical step. He warned that the rage of the world will burn, and that the gates of the conflict will open to the unknown if it is transferred...
He expressed hope that [US President-elect Donald] Trump will act with the necessary level of responsibility, and said: 'If he does not do so, it will fan the flames of the Arab and Muslim worlds, and will create rifts between him and other international parties.'"
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 19, 2017]
Headline: "The [PA] president: Transferring the American embassy to Jerusalem is provocative and will harm the peace process"
"[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas said that transferring the American embassy to Jerusalem will sabotage all future progress and the peace process. He noted that it is not just provocative but beyond provocative, and will harm the entire peace process.
The president, who led a [PA] government meeting today (Tuesday) [Jan. 17, 2017] conveyed a message to [US] President-elect Donald Trump by saying: 'We hope that he will not transfer the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as Jerusalem is a united city in the eyes of Israel, and it is not right and not legal. Therefore, transferring the embassy will sabotage all future progress, and therefore will [also] sabotage the peace process. We hope that he will stop the transfer of the embassy and begin negotiations on the basis of the international decisions and [UN] Security Council Resolution 2334, and on the basis of the results of the Paris Peace Conference [held Jan. 15, 2017]. When it all ends, each side will know what its borders are. We know that our borders are based on the 1967 [borders], including East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine. So they will do what they want, [but] before that, transferring the embassy will be not just provocative but beyond provocative, and will harm the entire peace process.'"
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Jan. 17, 2017]
UN Security Council Resolution 2334 was passed on Dec. 23, 2016, by a vote of 14-0 with one abstention.
The resolution condemned the establishment of Israeli "settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem," saying it "has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace." It demanded that Israel "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities" in the area. The resolution further said "it will not recognize any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines" other than changes made through negotiations, in reference to the 1949-1967 ceasefire line between Israel and the neighboring Arab countries following Israel's 1948 War of Independence.
Paris Peace Conference - A peace conference was held in Paris on Jan. 15, 2017, attended by representatives from over 70 countries, but with no representatives from Israel or the PA. The conference issued a declaration calling for a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians based on the two-state solution and praising UN Security Council Resolution 2334. Britain and Australia refused to sign the declaration, with Britain arguing that the declaration, which was made as part of the French Peace Initiative, might harden the Palestinian negotiating position, particularly given its timing right before the inauguration of US President Donald Trump's administration. The following day Britain blocked the EU Foreign Affairs Council from adopting the declaration.