Leading PLO official threatens US with harsh consequences if embassy moves to Jerusalem

 

Saeb Erekat continues to do what he does best – bully & threaten the world with “chaos, lawlessness & extremism.” This time, he says PLO will revoke its recognition of Israel, along with other harsh consequences, should Trump move the US embassy to Jerusalem.

By i24news

 

Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat warned on Monday that if the US embassy will be moved to Jerusalem by the incoming Trump administration PLO will revoke its recognition of Israel and that other harsh consequences may follow.

According to The Times of Israel Erekat spoke at a conference call organized by the Wilson Center policy forum in Washington, DC regarding expectations from the Trump administration, and warned of the many consequences of President-elect Donald Trump’ honoring his campaign pledge and relocating the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

He said that the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) will revoke its recognition of Israel and that the prospect of a two state solution will be over and any hope of Israeli-Palestinian peace in the future will disappear.

Furthermore, said Erekat, all American embassies in the Arab world would be forced to close — not necessarily because Arab leaderships would want to close them, but because the infuriated public in the Arab world would not “allow” for the embassies to continue to operate.

Saeb Erekat

On a more personal level, Erekat said he would resign immediately from his position as chief Palestinian negotiator.

Moreover, he warned that all American embassies around the Arab world will be forced to close, not on account of the Arab leadership, he said, but because of what he predicts would be a result of an infuriated public in Arab countries, which would not “allow” for them to stay and operate.

Erekat’s statements come after Trump on Thursday nominated David Friedman — an attorney and campaign adviser who backs moving the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem — as ambassador to the Jewish State.

“The bond between Israel and the United States runs deep, and I will ensure there is no daylight between us when I’m president,” Trump said in a statement.

“As the United States’ ambassador to Israel, David Friedman will maintain the special relationship between our two countries.”

A source in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the premier was “pleased” with the appointment.

“He knows David Friedman has the full confidence of President-Elect Trump and looks forward to working closely with him,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In a Trump transition team statement Thursday announcing his appointment, Friedman said he wanted to work for peace and looked forward to “doing this from the US embassy in Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem.”

According to The Times of Israel, Erekat on Monday criticized the selection of Friedman, citing the designated ambassador’s wish to work from Jerusalem and his support of settlement expansion.

Erekat stated that such actions symbolize an American acceptance of what he called “Israel’s illegal annexation of East Jerusalem,” and would plunge the region into turmoil. “Any hope of peace in the future will just vanish,” he said, with an added statement that he was not making threats, but rather issuing a warning.

When asked why he would personally resign, Erekat said he would not want to mislead anyone into believing that there were any prospects of peace, and that moving the embassy would mean that all those, like himself, who had believed in the possibility of a two-state solution had been wrong.

Erekat also urged that instead of following this path Trump should declare Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem to be “null and void,” and revive negotiations on all core issues, including that of Jerusalem, with the goal of establishing a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines alongside the State of Israel He said the Palestinians had agreed to land swaps and to demilitarization, according to The Times of Israel.

The leftist pro-Israel, US-based organization J Street sharply criticized Trump’s nomination of Friedman, calling the choice “reckless.”

“This nomination is reckless, putting America’s reputation in the region and credibility around the world at risk,” the group’s president Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a statement.

“Friedman should be beyond the pale for Senators considering who should represent the United States in Israel.”

During the campaign, Trump met with Netanyahu and afterward pledged to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided capital” if elected.

Trump has not repeated that promise since winning the presidency on November 8. But this week his adviser Kellyanne Conway called the move “a very big priority” for him.

 

View original i24news publication at:
http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/133112-161220-top-palestinian-official-warns-of-harsh-consequences-of-moving-us-embassy

 

 

 

Tower of David and courtyard in Jerusalem - Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP