Palestinians no longer accept US as mediator, Abbas tells summit
(The Guardian Turkey)

Palestinian president demands UN takes charge of peace process after Trump´s recognition of Jerusalem as capital of IsraelThe Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has formally declared that Palestinians will no longer accept the US as a mediator in the Middle East peace process following Donald Trump´s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In his strongest public statement since Trump´s announcement last week, Abbas called the move a `crime` that threatened world peace. He demanded the United Nations take charge of the peace process as Washington was no longer `fit` for the task.Of all the issues at the heart of the enduring conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, none is as sensitive as the status of Jerusalem. The holy city has been at the centre of peace-making efforts for decades.The peace process has been at death´s door since the former secretary of state John Kerry´s peace mission ended in failure in 2014. But the international community - apart from the US - is united in saying recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is disastrous for any hopes of reviving meaningful talks. The status of Jerusalem is one of the pivotal issues that diplomats and peacemakers have said must be agreed between the two parties in negotiations. Continue reading...