AMMAN: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not meet US Vice President Mike Pence as originally scheduled in Bethlehem on Dec. 19, Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki said.
Majdi Khalidi, a senior adviser to Abbas, told Arab News: “The circumstances on the ground created by the US decision (to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital) make it impossible to hold the meeting.”
There are public calls in the region to boycott Pence’s regional tour. In Egypt, the head of the Coptic Church, Archbishop Tawadros II, said he will not meet the vice president.
Among the topics that Pence is said to be interested in discussing is the status of Christians in the Middle East.
Father Rifaat Bader, a Latin priest and director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media in Jordan, said Pence will not be welcomed by Jordanians from all walks of life.
“The visit comes after (US President Donald) Trump’s decision on Jerusalem, so it’s natural that people in the region refuse to meet with him (Pence),” Bader told Arab News.
He said even before Trump’s decision, there was apprehension about the purpose of Pence’s visit.
“He’s coming under the cover of helping Christians. This will divide the people of the region,” Bader said.
“As proud Christian Arabs, we want to be treated as equal to our Muslim brothers and sisters and all the people of the region, and not to be given any special status.”
In Jordan, protests have been held against Trump’s decision near the US Embassy in Amman. “We won’t leave Jerusalem and its people alone, and we’ll continue to protest here until this decision is reversed,” Jordanian protester Mohammad Abu Heja told Arab News.
An online poll has been launched urging the Amman municipality to change the name of the street where the embassy is located to Al-Quds Al-Arabi (Arab Jerusalem). The call to change the name of the street has received widespread support in the Arab world.
Khaled Daoud, spokesman for former Egyptian interim Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, tweeted: “This is a great idea as a response to the arrogant Trump.”
Social media has been abuzz with attempts by activists to show opposition to the US decision and support to the Palestinians of Jerusalem.
Rola Othman, a social media monitor, told Arab News that Facebook users are using a photo of Al-Aqsa Mosque with the words “Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine” as their profile picture.
Sabreen Taha, a journalist and resident of Jerusalem’s Old City, said the hashtags “Jerusalem is ours” and “Jerusalem the capital of Palestine” have been trending on Twitter.
Israeli security personnel tried to break up a demonstration in East Jerusalem, Taha said. “When we were covering the protests on Salaheddine Street, Israelis arrived on horseback and began an unprovoked attack on members of the local and foreign press,” she told Arab News.