But Palestinians ruled out Washington as a peace broker after the US president’s Dec. 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Palestinians see East Jerusalem as capital of a future state. The official acknowledged that the United States and the Palestinian leadership had not had any direct diplomatic contact since Trump’s Jerusalem declaration. He said the two leaders had agreed to convey to the Palestinians that the United States was eager to resume peace talks. Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally.

Source: The Express Tribune January 23, 2018 18:22 UTC