RAMALLAH, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday reiterated that the U.S. is no longer a fair sponsor of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process after recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Speaking to a rally entitled "Jerusalem is the capital of Muslim Youths 2018" in Ramallah, Abbas once again rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's declaration in December that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
"Jerusalem is the capital of the Muslim and Christian youths too, and we will never accept declaring the city as the capital of Israel because it has Arab, Islamic and Christian characteristics," Abbas told the rally.
Israel has declared the whole city of Jerusalem, revered by Christians, Jews and Muslims, as its eternal and indivisible capital, but the Palestinians wants East Jerusalem, taken over by Israel in the 1967 war, as the capital of a future independent Palestinian state.
"We are the decision makers and this pen is the only pen that signs on any agreement and nobody else can sign on our behalf ," Abbas said.
He reiterated that the Trump administration is no longer "a fair sponsor or mediator to the peace process in the Middle East" due to its decision on Jerusalem.
"Our hands are extended to peace throughout peace negotiations," he said.
The Palestinians are supporting the war against terrorism everywhere in the world, and did not reject any invitation for peace talks, "but we reject the American decision on Jerusalem," Abbas said.
Following Trump's Jerusalem decision, the Palestinians have been seeking an multilateral international mechanism to sponsor the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks stalled since 2014.
