In an escalation of tension with the Trump administration, the Palestinian Authority has temporarily recalled its envoy to Washington, reports Los Angeles Times.
On the other hand, Palestine has also recalled its ambassador to Pakistan after he attended a rally in support of Palestine's position on Jerusalem hosted by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, who carries a $10m US bounty on his head for allegedly masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks, report Al Jazira.
Ambassador to Pakistan Walid Abu Ali was summoned back to Ramallah on Saturday (December 30), with the Palestinian foreign ministry saying his participation in the rally was "an unintentional mistake, but not justified".
Meanwhile, the move of recalling the ambassador of US Sunday (December 31) came three weeks after President Trump angered Palestinians by declaring that the U.S. recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and would move its embassy there from Tel Aviv.
The representative, Zomlot, was ordered home "to review the United Nations' General Assembly decision to reject" Trump's declaration, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recalled Zomlot to discuss future steps, according to the foreign minister, Riyad Maliki, who said the diplomat was expected to return to Washington to resume his duties after the holidays.
Trump has said that a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians — which he called "the ultimate deal" — is a top foreign policy priority.
But his declaration has alienated Palestinians, whose leaders have never accepted Israeli rule over all of Jerusalem and insist that East Jerusalem will be the capital of any future Palestinian state.
After the announcement, Abbas said he would not meet with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who was scheduled to visit the region but canceled his trip.
The United States vetoed a resolution supported by the 14 other U.N. Security Council members that would have required Trump to rescind his declaration.
In Pakistan, thousands of Pakistanis attended the mass protest rally organised by Saeed in the northern city of Rawalpindi on Friday, rejecting US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel earlier this month.
India protested the envoy's appearance with Saeed. Abu Ali appears to have been dismissed from his diplomatic post. "The Palestinian Authority supports India's war on terrorism," the government in Ramallah, West Bank, said in a statement.
Saeed, the founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba armed group, has long been accused by the United States and India of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which saw gunmen kill 166 people as they stormed hotels and other targets in the Indian financial hub.
Saeed is subject to international sanctions for his association with Lashkar-e-Taiba, including UN restrictions that subject him, Jamaat-ud-Dawa and other associated organisations to an asset freeze, arms embargo and international travel ban.
In 2002, Pakistan banned Lashkar-e-Taiba as a "terrorist" organisation, and since 2008, authorities say they have been abiding by UN sanctions. Jamaat-ud-Dawa, however, continues to operate freely across the country and is often seen at the forefront of humanitarian relief efforts following natural disasters. It also runs a network of seminaries and releases several periodical publications.
BDST: 1230 HRS, JAN 01, 2018
EHJ
