Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday reaffirmed that the Palestinians will no longer work with the United States as an interlocutor in the peace process between themselves and Israel. Abbas made the comments at an emergency session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, which was called for in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s decisions last Wednesday to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and initiate the relocation of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv to the city.
“We do not want America… After these decisions, we will not accept it… As long as they act like this, we do not want them,” Abbas said in a hour-long speech, which was attended by Jordanian King Abdullah, Turkish President Rajab Tayyip Erdogan and other Muslim leaders. Since the early 1990s, the US has served as the primary interlocutor in the peace process, frequently meeting with leaders from both sides and hosting negotiations between them. READ MORE
