Trump reportedly told Palestinian leadership he plans to move the US embassy to Jerusalem
- President Donald Trump reportedly told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that he intends to move the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
- An aide to Abbas stated that if Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which is a separate but related issue, the Palestinians would cut off relations with the US.
- Several US allies had previously advised Trump against recognizing Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel, and after today's report, Abbas said moving the embassy would have "dangerous consequences."
President Donald Trump reportedly told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that he will move the US embassy to Jerusalem, breaking with decades of US policy and potentially igniting opposition across the region.
Abbas reportedly told Trump the move would have "dangerous consequences" for the region, according to CNBC.
Trump intends to announce whether he would recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital this week, the New York Times reported last week, but it was reportedly unlikely he would move the embassy itself. Trump's reversal on the issue comes amid mounting criticism from Turkey, Jordan, France, and Saudi Arabia, which have all advised the president against recognizing Jerusalem as the capital, according to CNN.
It was unclear if Trump said when he planned to move the US embassy.
One of Abbas' aides said on Tuesday that if Trump goes forward with the recognition, the Palestinian Authority would cut off all ties with the United States, according to Haaretz. Another senior PA official, Nabil Shaath, made grim predictions about the apparent future of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations if Trump makes good on his promise.
"The mother of all the deals dies here on the rocks in Jerusalem if he says tomorrow that he recognizes a united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel," Shaath said.
The Gaza Strip-based Palestinian group Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and the US, called for Palestinians to rise up in response to the "conspiracy."
Moving the embassy, which currently sits in Tel Aviv, to Jerusalem has been one of Trump's longtime campaign promises. It is also a position Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu has endorsed, stating that the move would not endanger the peace negotiations.
"It will correct a historic injustice by advancing the [peace process] and shattering a Palestinian fantasy that Jerusalem isn't Israel's capital," Netanyahu said in May.
Trump had previously signed a waiver in June delaying moving the embassy, just as every US president has done every six months since 1995.