Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud AbbasHadas Parush/Flash 90

Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas railed against President Donald Trump’s announcement last Wednesday in which he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and announced plans to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem.

Speaking in Istanbul at an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday, Abbas accused President Trump of “giving away” Jerusalem to the “Zionist movement” by recognizing the city as Israel’s capital. Israel’s seat of government, including the Knesset, the supreme court, and the Prime Minister’s Office, have been located in Jerusalem since Israel declared the city its capital in 1950.

Trump, Abbas claimed, had given the city away as a “gift” to the “Zionist movement, treating it as if he “were giving away an American city.”

Abbas added that the PA would no longer accept US involvement in the negotiating process.

The PA leader also warned that there could be "no peace or stability" in the region until Jerusalem is made the capital of a Palestinian state.

"Jerusalem is and will forever be the capital of the Palestinian state... There will be no peace, no stability without that," Abbas said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded Muslim-majority nations counter President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital by declaring the city the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Erdogan’s Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavsuoglu, slammed the “step taken by the US,” which he claimed “legitimizes the occupation [of Jerusalem].”

Last Friday, thousands of Arab rioters protested President Trump’s declaration, clashing with Israeli security forces around Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem. Rioters hurled firebombs and stones at Israeli civilians and security personnel, prompting Israeli authorities to respond with tear gas, rubber bullets, and other crowd-control methods.