PA looks for replacement to US as Mideast peace process sponsor
Following the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the Palestinian Authority has endeavored to find a new sponsor for the peace process, yet this could be complicated by lack of options and threats to existing financial aid agreements.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the US Embassy there has angered Palestinians who decided to seek a new sponsor for the peace process as a substitute for the United States, which they believe has lost the eligibility to sponsor the Middle East peace process because of Trump’s controversial move.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a speech to the extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul Dec. 13, “Trump’s announcement is a flagrant violation of international law and signed agreements. I reiterate our objection to this null decision with which the United States shocked us all. This was not the deal of the century, but rather the blow of the century. The United States has chosen to lose its eligibility as an intermediary, and we will not accept for it to have a role in the peace process because it has shown full bias to Israel.”
