Abbas: US embassy in Jerusalem a ‘settlement outpost’

“What we saw in Jerusalem today was not the opening of an embassy, but the opening of an American settlement outpost,” declared Abbas.

By: World Israel News Staff

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas condemned the US’ move of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, deriding the new location as a “settlement outpost.”

Speaking at the opening of a leadership meeting held in Ramallah on Monday, Abbas described the US embassy in Jerusalem as “an American settlement outpost,” throwing it in the same category as Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria “built in the occupied Palestinian territories.”

“What we saw in Jerusalem today was not the opening of an embassy, but the opening of an American settlement outpost,” he said. “Before we had settlement outposts with American help, but today we have an American settlement outpost in east Jerusalem.”

Abbas also claimed that the US had “defi[ed] international law and United Nations resolutions” and “removed itself from the political work in the Middle East as a mediator.”

“It’s no longer an arbiter,” said Abbas, stressing that the Palestinians will only accept a multilateral track for negotiations through an international peace conference.

The Palestinians have boycotted Washington since President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December, rejecting site unseen any potential US peace initiatives.

“Removing Jerusalem and the refugees from the [negotiating] table is an American slap,” he added.

Saeb Erekat, chief Palestinian negotiator to the diplomatic process with Israel, said the celebration of the “illegal transfer” of the US embassy to Jerusalem was “a celebration of the burial of the peace process and the two-state solution.”

Erekat also stressed that the US embassy in Jerusalem is “a new settlement outpost that will disappear.”

“The United States is no longer a partner or a mediator and will not be part of the peace process,” he stated on Palestinian TV.

The Palestinian leadership held an emergency meeting on Monday night to discuss action against the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.