13/12/2017
Jerusalem latest: Palestinians will not accept any US role in peace process 'from now on', says Mahmoud Abbas
Palestinian leader denounces US' allyship after decision to recognise holy city as Israeli capital and months of mounting pressure to accept terms of an unfavourable peace deal
Bethan McKernan Beirut @mck_beth
A protester burns tyres during clashes with Israeli troops following a protest against the US President’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel near the West Bank city of Ramallah, on 7 December 2017 AFP/Getty
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said that Palestinians will no longer accept any American role in the Middle East peace process after US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Mr Trump's announcement was a "crime" that threatens world peace, the Palestinian Authority leader said on Wednesday, calling on the United Nations to revamp the stalled mechanism now that the US is "unfit" for leading peace efforts.
While Palestinians remain committed to peace, Washington can no longer be accepted as a "fair negotiator", he said, having provoked Muslim and Christian sentiments over the future of the holy city.
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He added that new measures are needed to protect the identity of the divided city, which is claimed by both the Israelis and the Palestinians, and that in the light of the US' move in Israel's favour, the world must accept the legitimacy of a Palestinian state
Mr Abbas spoke at an extraordinary Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Istanbul, a 57-member strong conference expected to hammer out a unified response from the Muslim world to the US' unprecedented move.
Israel annexed east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day war, a move that was never internationally recognised. Control of it remains one of the core stumbling blocks to an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
Like many presidential hopefuls before him, on the campaign trail Mr Trump promised to recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital and to relocate the US embassy there from Tel Aviv.
Over the last year, the new administration has delayed a decision on the issue.
Mr Trump's announcement last week, however, upends decades of US policy: the previous US position had been to recognise the status of Jerusalem in a final peace agreement as per the terms of the 1993 Oslo accords.
The move was met with condemnation from the international community and outrage in the wider Muslim world: in the West Bank and Gaza four Palestinians were killed in ensuing clashes and protests have smouldered worldwide for days.
The president, who has proved unpredictable on foreign policy matters, has repeatedly conveyed a desire to broker peace in the intractable Arab-Israeli conflict, a goal he has described as "the ultimate deal".
The US has been seeking to resurrect talks between Israel and the Palestinians since Mr Trump took office, with the help of ally Saudi Arabia.
In recent months there has been mounting pressure on the Palestinian leadership from Riyadh and Washington to accept the terms of a less than favourable peace deal. The blueprint is understood to contain steps leading to a two state solution, but without the right to return for Palestinian refugees or full sovereignty.
The US has reiterated it is committed to the peace process despite the decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israeli.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said last week it is still be up to the Israelis and Palestinians to hammer out all other issues surrounding the city in future talks.
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