RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Palestinians accused U.S.Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Monday of undermining peace prospects by calling Jerusalem “the capital of Israel”, ignoring their own claims to the city and most world opinion.
Romney used the term on Sunday to sustained applause from his Israeli audience in the Holy City, during a trip to present himself asIsrael’s closest ally ahead of the November 6 election contest withPresident Barack Obama.
“We condemn his statements. Those who speak about the two-state solution should know that there can be no Palestinian state without East Jerusalem,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters on Monday.
“What this man is doing here is just promoting extremism, violence and hatred, and this is absolutely unacceptable,” he said. “His statements are just rewarding the occupation and aggression.”
Israel seized eastern Jerusalem during a 1967 war. A U.N Security Council resolution condemns a 1980 Israeli law that declared Jerusalem the “complete and undivided” capital of the country as a violation of international law.
Most countries, including the United States, have not recognized Israel’s declaration and have kept their embassies in the coastal city of Tel Aviv.
Previous U.S. presidential candidates, including Senator Obama in June 2008, have referred to Jerusalem as Israel’s capital ahead of elections, only to row back when taking power and suggest the issue should be resolved by negotiations.
A senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rdeineh, said Romney’s statements were unhelpful, stood in the way of a peace settlement and “contradict the previous positions held by the American administration”.
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) secretary-general Yasser Abed Rabbo said: “American policy makers must abandon hypocrisy and stop attempting to gain votes at the expense of the Palestinian people’s rights.”
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