Palestinian President to decline Trump’s meeting invitation

CAIRO – 10 December 2017: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to decline an invitation by U.S. President Donald Trump to hold a meeting in Washington in the coming weeks, The Guardian reported on Saturday.

The U.S. administration confirmed to Haaretz on Thursday that Trump invited Abbas to that meeting on Tuesday in a phone call while informing him of his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

A senior Palestinian official in Fatah Party named Jibril Rajoub declared on Thursday that U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence “is unwelcome in Palestine”. He is due to visit Israel and the West Bank on December 19, according to Haaretz.

The visit is part of a Middle East tour by Pence that includes Egypt as well. On Friday, Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb announced his rejection to meet with Pence. He said, "How can I sit with those who granted what they do not own to those who do not deserve it."

Pope Tawadros of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark rejected to meet with U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence, who will visit Egypt on December 20, announced Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church in a Saturday statement.

The Guardian reported that the Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyadh al-Maliki confirmed Abbas’ decision to reject meeting Pence, and that the Palestinian Authority (PA) would seek votes on resolutions at the UN Security Council, and the Arab League.

Trump’s decision was met by resentment from Arab and EU countries. The Czech Republic and China were exceptions.