Palestinians cancel Capitol Hill Christmas over Trump remarks
The Palestinian mission in Washington abandoned attempts to court the White House and Congress with the mission's first-ever Christmas party on Capitol Hill after it was announced that President Donald Trump would make a major statement on the status of Jerusalem on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's foray into the touchy politics surrounding the status of Jerusalem claimed its first casualty Tuesday night when the Palestinian mission abruptly canceled what was supposed to be its first-ever Christmas party on Capitol Hill.
Trump is expected to recognize the holy city as Israel’s capital Wednesday while delaying relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv for another six months, as presidents have done since Congress first required the move in 1995.
The Christmas celebration was to have taken place Wednesday night; White House officials had earlier confirmed that they planned to attend. The party was to have been hosted by the PLO delegation to Washington, which the State Department threatened to shut down last month before backtracking.
The celebration “was planned to bring a live-stream video of Christian leaders and the children of Bethlehem with a Christmas message of peace,” Shirin Yaseen, the spokeswoman for the PLO delegation in Washington, said in a statement. “Out of care for our leaders and children, it might be unsuitable for them to speak and sing shortly after the possibility of an announcement that runs counter to the message of peace.”
