Palestinian president says Trump's plan to move U.S. embassy will hinder Mideast peace

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas (C, R) applauds after he inaugurated the new Palestinian diplomatic mission to the Holy See — (Image credit: Tiziana Fabi/Getty Images)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that President-elect Donald Trump's promise to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is a mistake which could hinder the Mideast peace process. "We are waiting to see if it happens," Abbas said while visiting Vatican City to inaugurate the Palestinian embassy to the Holy See. "If it does it will not help peace and we hope it does not happen," he continued.

Palestinians oppose the move on grounds that it could undermine historic claims to the disputed city by Muslim and Christian residents, consolidating the power of the Israeli state and upsetting any movement toward a two-state solution.

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.