Qatar calls Trump's Jerusalem decision a 'death sentence for peace'

Amos Ben Gershom, Israeli Government Press Office via AP

• Qatar said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump’s decision on Jerusalem is a "death sentence" for future peace negotiations.
• Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called Trump's move "a deliberate undermining of all efforts to achieve peace.
• The US has historically played a major mediating role in Israel-Palestine peace talk.

Qatar's foreign minister said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital is a "death sentence" for future peace negotiations, according to Al Jazeera.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani called Trump's decision “a dangerous escalation,” as other Arab world leaders joined calls to denounce Trump's declaration.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called Trump's move "a deliberate undermining of all efforts to achieve peace," The Jerusalem Post reported. "[Trump's decision] represents a declaration of the United States' withdrawal from undertaking the role as it has played over the past decades in sponsoring the peace process," Abbas added.

The US has played a major mediating role in Israel-Palestine peace talks throughout the years, and has facilitated cease-fire agreements between Israelis and Palestinians. 

Jordan dismissed Trump's declaration as "null and void," and rejected any unilateral move to change Jerusalem's legal status. Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said later in a tweet that the US had "frustrated" peace efforts, adding that Jordan will "continue to work for an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital." 

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi also condemned the move, and said in a statement that the US has been warned against "taking measures that would undermine the chances of peace in the Middle East".

Palestinian political and militant group Hamas said the US' decision "opens the gates of hell." 

"Trump's decision on Jerusalem will not succeed in changing the fact that Jerusalem is an Arab Muslim land," a spokesman for the group added.

Some Palestinian officials have called for three days of rage, and encouraged protests near US and Israeli embassies.

On Wednesday, US embassies across the Arab world issued safety warnings for US citizens as they brace for "potentially violent" demonstrations. 

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