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.”

Prior to Abbas’ speech, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki spoke at the Dec. 9 emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo, saying, “Trump thought it would be easy to announce such a decision, which the entire world rejected. He justified his sin with religious heresy. He isolated himself and prevented his country from ever playing a role in the peace process again.”

Meanwhile, member of the PLO Executive Committee Ahmed al-Majdalani told Al-Monitor that the Palestinian Authority (PA) can never again accept the US unilateral sponsorship of the peace process, as it showed bias to Israel in all its positions.