The Palestinian Authority and Hamas rejected statements by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in which he said that American citizens born in Jerusalem have the right to list Israel in their passports.
Nabil Abu Rudeina PA presidential spokesman said “Pompeo’s statements are rejected and constitute a flagrant violation of international laws and international legality” according to the official Palestinian News Agency (WAFA).
Abu Rudeina stressed that east Jerusalem with its Islamic and Christian sanctities is a red line and it is the essence of security and stability in the entire region.
Hazem Qassem Hamas’s spokesman said in a statement that the American decision reflects Washington’s insistence on implementing all steps of the deal of the century encouraged by the normalization of some Arab countries with Israel.
“This declaration confirms the participation of the United States in the aggression against our Palestinian people it also represents the apex of falsification of history reality and facts” Qassem added.
Pompeo said on Thursday in a tweet “U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem can now elect to list their place of birth as either Jerusalem or Israel on their passports. We remain committed to lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”
In the past Americans born in Jerusalem were not allowed to list Israel as a place of birth as part of the US policy as a sponsor of the peace process.
The Palestinians see this step as a endorsement of the American recognition of Jerusalem as the alleged capital of Israel.
On December 6 2017 US President Donald Trump announced that his administration recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moved his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to it. In response the Palestinian Authority announced a boycott of his administration.
