United States no longer peace broker, says Abbas

Istanbul - Abbas was speaking at the gathering of heads of state and top officials from Islamic nations at a summit in Turkey.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Arab and Islamic leaders on Wednesday that the United States is no longer fit to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal and should be replaced as mediator by the United Nations, outlining a significant policy shift in response to US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
In an impassionate speech, Abbas said his people will no longer accept the US as a peace broker but added that they remain committed to international resolutions which have formed the basis of the process.
Abbas was speaking at the gathering of heads of state and top officials from Islamic nations at a summit called in Turkey to forge a unified Muslim world's stance against Trump's move.
Abbas said Trump's decision was a "crime" which came at a time when the Palestinians were engaged with Washington in a new push to reach what he said was anticipated to be the "deal of our times".
"Instead we got the slap of our times," Abbas said. "The United States has chosen to lose its qualification as a mediator ... We will no longer accept that it has a role in the political process from now."
A statement from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) later urged the world to recognise occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
The statement declared "East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine" and invited "all countries to recognise the State of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital". They declared Trump's decision "null and void legally" and "a deliberate undermining of all peace efforts" that would give impetus to "extremism and terrorism".

• MENA