The reactions of the Palestinian leadership to US President Donald Trump’s Dec. 6 recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel should be accorded a prominent place in a Diplomacy 101 textbook under the heading “How NOT to Manage a Conflict.” The first rule of thumb is that the weaker side, in this case the Palestinians, should never fall out with the mediator, especially if he happens to be the leader of a superpower with the ego of a superhero. The second rule is to never climb a tree unless you have a ladder on which to climb down. And the third: Never miss an opportunity to expose your opponent’s cards when you’re certain he’s bluffing. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas violated all three of these injunctions.

Following the Jerusalem proclamation and Trump’s Jan. 25 declaration that “we took Jerusalem off the table,” Abbas declared a diplomatic war on the mediator. All that was left for Abbas as consolation was an expected vote by the Slovenian parliament recognizing the State of Palestine. Responding to Trump, Abbas sent spokesman Nabil Abu Rodeina to issue the threat: “If Jerusalem is off the table, then the US will be off the table as well.” As a result, the Palestinians will continue to walk tall — under the table. They can declare, as Abu Rodeina did, that Jerusalem is an issue that “is not for sale, neither for gold nor for silver.” Meanwhile, the Israeli government will invest a fortune in its West Bank settlement enterprise, and the international community will keep financing the Palestinian security agencies. In fact, by doing so, the international community pays for the security of Israeli citizens, as the Palestinian agencies help thwart terror attacks on Israelis.

The Trump administration handed Abbas several ladders on which to climb down from his Jerusalem tree. Vice President Mike Pence used the Knesset podium on Jan. 22 to clarify that the borders of Jerusalem would be determined in negotiations between the sides. Trump’s envoy, Jason Greenblatt, said Jan. 30 at a conference held by the Institute for National Security Studies that the presidential declaration recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital does not predetermine the extent of Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem. He explained that Trump’s declaration was simply a recognition of the fact that Jerusalem was the seat of Israel’s government and parliament and had been the spiritual center of the Jewish people for millennia.

At the start of his term, during a joint White House news conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February 2017, Trump said that both Israelis and Palestinians would have to make concessions. “You know that, right?” he asked, looking at his guest. “The Israelis are going to have to show some flexibility. … And I think they’ll do that. I think they very much would like to make a deal.”