Palestinians ponder possible US Embassy move to Jerusalem

Shlomi Eldar

Jan 10, 2017

Pedestrians walk past the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv August 2, 2013. U.S. embassies that would normally be open this Sunday - including those in Abu Dhabi, Baghdad and Cairo - will be closed that day because of unspecified security concerns, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday. CBS News said U.S. embassies would also be closed in Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12876 — Pedestrians walk past the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, Aug. 2, 2013. — REUTERS/Nir Elias

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On Dec. 9, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sent a letter to US President-elect Donald Trump stating that the relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem would undermine the principle of two states for two people, as well as future prospects of an Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

“The letter was very cautiously phrased, in diplomatic language, and was well thought out,” a Palestinian source in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority (PA), told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. According to the source, Abbas followed the suggestion of the future Palestinian ambassador to Washington, Husam Zumlut, and explained to Trump that moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would complicate matters for the Trump administration that wishes to make its mark by making peace between Israelis and Palestinians.