Palestinian President suddenly cancels meeting with US Vice President

The Palestinian president will not meet the US vice president when he visits the region this month, in protest at Washington's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and US Vice President Mike Pence. Photo: AFP.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has canceled a meeting scheduled for December 19 with US Vice President Mike Pence during his visit to the Middle East, according toReuters.

White House and US State Department officials have not commented on the information.

Another meeting between Pence and the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt was canceled after US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel this week. Trump also pledged to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, causing a wave of protests in the Arab community.

Pence is scheduled to arrive in Israel on December 17, despite rising tensions in the region. He will be the first senior US official to address the Israeli parliament since 2008, when then-US President George W. Bush visited the country.

Violence erupted as Palestinians, who claim East Jerusalem as their capital, took to the streets in protest and Israel retaliated against Hamas, the main Palestinian Islamist group, for rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.

According to VNE