Mahmoud Abbas: US embassy move to Jerusalem would hurt peace

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has warned
that peace could suffer if President-elect Donald
Trump carries out plans to move the US embassy
in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
He spoke at the inauguration of the Palestinian
embassy to the Holy See, after meeting Pope
Francis.
The Vatican recognised Palestinian statehood a
year and a half ago.
The status of Jerusalem is one of the most
sensitive and complex issues of the entire Middle
East conflict.
Palestinians view East Jerusalem as the capital of
their future state but Israel proclaims the entire
city as its capital.
On Sunday, France is hosting an international
conference in Paris to try to kick-start peace talks
between the two sides.
Can Paris summit save fading two-state solution?
Can Jewish settlement issue be resolved?
The Pope has repeatedly supported moves to
restart the peace process.
Relations between the Holy See and Palestinian
territories were upgraded in 2015 with the signing
of a treaty recognising Palestinian statehood - a
move that angered Israel.
Significant prize - by James Reynolds, BBC News
Rome correspondent
The Palestinians - and the Israelis - are engaged in
a constant search for allies. Official recognition
from the Pope is a significant prize. Israel already
has an embassy to the Holy See. Now the
Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, has opened
the new Palestinian embassy.
Pope Francis himself has played a role in the
conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
In 2014, he visited Israel and the Palestinian West
Bank. In the Palestinian town of Bethlehem he
even stopped to pray in front of Israel's separation
barrier. It's a symbol of protection for Israelis - but
of occupation for Palestinians.
Later that year, the Pope invited the Israeli and
Palestinian presidents to come to Rome to pray for
peace. Now each side has its own permanent
official voice at the Vatican.
Israeli relations with the Vatican were further
strained after Pope Francis described President
Abbas as "an angel of peace" during the
canonisation ceremony of two Palestinian nuns at
the Vatican in 2015.
On Saturday, President Abbas reiterated his
concern over President-elect Trump's plan to
move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem
and said he had written to Mr Trump to warn him
of the risks of such a move.
"If this is the decision, to transfer the embassy to
Jerusalem, it will not help peace and we hope it
doesn't happen," President Abbas told reporters
outside the Vatican.
Palestinian officials say the plan would undermine
chances of a negotiated peace based on a two-
state solution, in which Palestinian and Israeli
states would live side-by-side.
"Not only would this move deprive the United
States of all legitimacy in playing a role in conflict
resolution, it would also destroy the two-state
solution," Mr Abbas was quoted earlier as saying
in French paper Le Figaro.
He also said Palestinians may consider "reversing
recognition" of Israel if Mr Trump goes ahead with
the move.
Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation
(PLO) recognised each other under the 1993 Oslo
agreements.
Sunday's talks in Paris, involving some 70
countries, are to discuss peace in the region and
reiterate support for the two-state solution.
Importance of Jerusalem: Key points
There have been numerous rounds of peace
talks between Israel and the Palestinians since
the early 1990s, with the most recent
collapsing in acrimony in April 2014
Palestinian statehood and the status of
Jerusalem are among the thorniest issues
blocking peace talks
Israel occupied the West Bank and East
Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war
The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the
capital of their promised future state - but
Israel claims the entire city as its undivided
capital
The US and many UN member states do not
recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital
French President Francois Hollande has invited
President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu to Paris to discuss the
outcome of the conference.
Mr Netanyahu, who is not planning to attend, said
on Thursday: "It's a rigged conference, rigged by
the Palestinians with French auspices to adopt
additional anti-Israel stances. This pushes peace
backwards."
Tensions between Israel and the international
community were heightened last month after the
UN passed a resolution denouncing Israel's
settlement activity on occupied land.
About 500,000 Jews live in about 140 settlements
built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West
Bank and East Jerusalem. The settlements are
considered illegal under international law, though
Israel disputes this.