Jerusalem escalations are 'an act of war': Abbas spokesman

Jerusalem escalations are 'an act of war': Abbas spokesman
Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said Trump's Jerusalem decision, along with the Israeli Knesset voting on a law to make Jerusalem "unified", are declarations of war
2 min read
03 January, 2018
Palestinians have risen up against Israeli escalations in Jerusalem [Anadolu]

Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem  as the capital of Israel is "an act of war", the Palestinian presidency said on Tuesday.

Spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said Trump's Jerusalem decision, along with the Israeli Knesset voting on a law to make Jerusalem "unified", which would lead to the annexation of occupied East Jerusalem are both a declaration of war on Palestine and the Palestinian political and religious identity.

"This vote clearly indicates that Israel has officially declared the end of the so-called political process and has already begun to impose dictating and de facto policies," he said in a statement according to Palestinian Authority news agency WAFA.

"There is no legitimacy to the Trump decision, and there is no legitimacy to all the decisions of the Israeli Knesset. We will not allow in any way to allow such plans that are dangerous for the future of the region and the world to pass."

Abu Rudeineh warned against Israel's ongoing attempts to exploit the change in Washington's Jerusalem policy, which he warned will destroy all peace efforts that have built up in recent decades.

Read also: The unity of Jerusalemites must be respected, not tokenised

He said this requires Arab, Islamic and international intervention to confront what he labelled "Israel's uncontrolled behaviour that is pushing the region into the abyss".

Jerusalem is a key issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Trump's move has caused widespread anger in the region and drawn international condemnation.

Both the Palestinian territories and the Gaza Strip have seen daily protests and Palestinians have clashed with Israeli troops across the West Bank and along the Gaza border. Fourteen Palestinians have been killed since Trump's announcement on December 6.

Israel regards Jerusalem as its "undivided" capital, a position nearly the entire world rejects saying its status should be determined in peace talks with the Palestinians.

Under international law, East Jerusalem is considered occupied Palestinian territory.