Palestine condemns Trump's threat to cut aid as 'extortion'.
Palestine declared Jerusalem "not for sale" after Trump threatened to cut annual aid to force the country's leader to the negotiating table.
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Photo:AFP. |
"Jerusalem is the permanent capital of the Palestinian state, not to be sold for gold or billions of dollars," Nabil Abu Rudeina, spokesman for the Palestinian president, told the press.AFPToday, we are referring to the fact that US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on December 6th.
Following the US decision, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas declared that the US no longer has a role to play in the Middle East peace process.
"We are not against negotiations, but this process needs to be based on international law and resolutions that recognize an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital," Abu Rudeina added.
Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said in a statement that "we will not be blackmailed."
On January 2, President Trump said that the U.S. "spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year on Palestine but receives neither gratitude nor respect.""The Palestinians are no longer willing to negotiate peace, so why should we spend large sums of money on them in the future?", Trump wrote on Twitter.
The United States has long provided the Palestinian Authority with substantial financial and security support. In addition, the U.S. has spent $304 million on UN programs in the West Bank and Gaza. Many experts and analysts believe these programs have helped maintain stability in Palestinian territories.