Palestinians warn Trump over recognizing Jerusalem as Israel capital

Palestinian Presidential Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina has warned US President Donald Trump against any decision to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the Jerusalem al-Quds, and recognize the occupied territory as the capital of the Israeli regime.

Abu Rudeina, in a statement released on Friday and published by Palestine’s official Wafa news agency on Friday, announced that any just solution in the Middle East region required recognition of East Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.

“Failure to formulate a solution to the Palestinian issue will keep tensions, chaos and violence prevalent in the region and the whole world,” he pointed out.

“East al-Quds, with its holy places, is the beginning and the end of any solution and any project that saves the region from destruction,” Abu Rudeina commented.

Abu Rudeina added that President Mahmoud Abbas remains committed to a just peace based on the so-called “two-state solution.”

Trump is due to decide by Monday on whether to renew a six-month waiver on the relocation of US diplomatic mission in Israel.

There are reports that the US president could again delay moving the embassy but recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of Israel.

Earlier this year, Jordanian Information Minister Mohammed Momani said that moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds would be a “red line” for Jordan and would “inflame the Islamic and Arab streets.”

He noted that the transfer of the US diplomatic mission could disrupt relations between the US and regional allies, including Jordan, stressing that Amman will make use of all available political and diplomatic avenues to prevent the relocation.

Jordan administers the holy al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has also warned the US against the relocation of its diplomatic mission in Israel, saying all American embassies in the Arab world would have to close in the face of popular Arab outrage that would follow such an action.

PLO Secretary General Sa’eb Erekat said late last year that the potential move would deliver a death blow to any prospect of the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and would have his organization rescind all agreements with Tel Aviv.

Trump backtracked on Washington’s support for the so-called “two-state solution” in February, saying he would support any solution favored by both sides.

“Looking at two-state or one-state, I like the one that both parties like. I’m very happy with the one both parties like. I can live with either one,” the US president said during a joint press conference with Netanyahu in Washington on February 15. 

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