Palestine Recalls US Envoy after Jerusalem Move

TEHRAN (defapress)- The Palestinian leadership announced that it is recalling its envoy to the United States following Washington's controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

News ID: 67846

Date: 01 January 2018 - 13:45

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki decided to recall PLO envoy to Washington, Husam Zomlot, official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

The Palestinian Liberation Organization envoy to Washington, DC, would return for "consultations", according to WAFA.

Malki said that discussions would take place "to set the decisions needed by the Palestinian leadership in the coming period regarding our relations with the US", adding that the envoy is expected to return to "his normal work" after the discussions.

US President Donald Trump announced early December 2017 that Washington would be recognizing Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital, stressing that the United States would relocate the embassy in the occupied lands from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds.

The move was hailed by Israel but condemned by the rest of the international community as one which undermines the peace talks.

Washington’s al-Quds move has raised a chorus of outcry across the international community. The Muslim world, the UN, world leaders from Europe to the Middle East to Australia, and even US allies in the West have criticized the bid, saying it would plunge the already tumultuous region into new upheaval.

Heavy clashes also broke out between Israeli troops and Palestinian protesters after Washington's decision in Jerusalem al-Qud's Old City, Hebron (al-Khalil), Bethlehem and Nablus in the West Bank as well as the besieged Gaza Strip.

Over 620 Palestinians were detained by the Israeli forces since Washington’s move to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of Israel.

15 Palestinians were also killed in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank during three weeks of protests against the Washington declaration of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, according to reports.

Also, thousands of Palestinians have been wounded by Israeli army's fire during demonstrations against the US President Donald Trump decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The Palestinian ministry of public health in Gaza has also announced that the Israeli occupation forces use unknown gas bombs which caused cases of stress, convulsion, vomiting, coughing and rapid heartbeat among the Palestinian civilians. It stressed that the Zionist forces fire bullets directly on the Palestinian protestors.

The Israeli regime forces use brutal and excessive force against the civilians and the rescue teams as well as the medics, according to the Palestinian ministry which called for denouncing the racist actions of the Israeli authorities.

People in different countries have also hit the streets to denounce Trump's recognition of Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in a statement issued following an extraordinary summit in Turkey's Istanbul, declared East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine "under occupation" and urged the US to withdraw from the peace process and back down from its Jerusalem decision.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) overwhelmingly passed a non-binding resolution condemning Trump’s decision and called on states not to move their diplomatic missions to the sacred city. The UNGA vote followed the US veto of a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution.