Ramallah/Gaza, Aug 22: Palestine and the Islamic Hamas movement on Wednesday slammed US President Donald Trump for suggesting removal of the Jerusalem issue from the Middle East peace talks.
Ahmad Tamimi, a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee member, in a press statement termed the US President's comments as "useless".
"Trump's remarks express the biased US policy towards Israel and a continuation of the US illusions, which include passing the new peace 'Deal of Century' without Jerusalem being the capital for the Palestinian state," he said.
"Trump won't be able to remove the issue of Jerusalem from hearts of the Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims," the senior PLO official said.
The Palestinian leaders have repeatedly announced their categorical rejection of any US Middle East peace plan that excludes Jerusalem, the refugees issue and Jewish settlements.
"We have removed the issue of Jerusalem from the negotiating table," Trump said in a speech in Virginia on Tuesday.
"During the negotiations, Israel will pay a much higher price because it has taken a very valuable gift," the US President added, referring to his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last December.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas earlier said that he will neither hold talks with the Trump administration nor accept it as the peace mediator before it backs down on its decision on Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, called Trump's decision to remove Jerusalem from Palestinian-Israeli talks "very dangerous".
"There should be a firm and strict Palestinian response like withdrawing the recognition of Israel, cancelling the security partnership and severing all contacts and ties with the US administration," he said in an e-mailed press statement
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Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 12 runs
New Delhi, Apr 13 (PTI): Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 12 runs in their IPL match here on Sunday.
Sent in to bat, Tilak Varma hit a 33-ball 59 to power Mumbai Indians to 205 for five.
Ryan Rickelton (41 off 25 balls), Suryakumar Yadav (40 off 28 balls) and Naman Dhir (38 off 17 balls) also made useful contributions.
In reply, DC were all out for 193 in 19 overs, despite Karun Nair's 40-ball 89.
Karn Sharma (3/36) claimed three wickets, while Mitchell Santner (2/43) took two wickets.
For DC, Vipraj Nigam (2/41) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/23) snapped two wickets each, while Mukesh Kumar (1/38) took one.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indians: 205 for 5 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 59; Kuldeep Yadav 2/23, Vipraj Nigam 2/41).
Delhi Capitals: 193 all out in 19 overs (Karun Nair 89; Karn Sharma 3/36).
