The Vatican stressed the sacred nature of Jerusalem on Saturday as the Palestinian leader warned that peace could suffer if the incoming Trump administration goes ahead with plans to move the U.S. embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The developments came as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Pope Francis and inaugurated the Palestinian embassy to the Holy See. Abbas said he had only heard through news reports of the proposal by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to move the embassy to Jerusalem. “We hope that this news is not true because it is not encouraging and will disrupt and hinder the peace process,” he said. After the papal meeting, Abbas formally inaugurated the new Palestinian embassy across the street from one of the main gates of Vatican City: He pulled back a curtain revealing a plaque and extended the Palestinian flag from a flagpole outside a window.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 14, 2017 12:04 UTC