A senior Palestinian official slammed US President Donald Trump's efforts to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal as "illusions" on Wednesday, a day after Trump said Israel will have to pay a price for his controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Trump's statements are "a continuation of the pro-Israel American policy and a continuation of the illusions of the US administration," Ahmad Tamimi, a member of the PLO executive committee said in a statement.
Speaking at a political rally in West Virginia on Tuesday Trump said: "In the negotiation Israel will have to pay a higher price, because they won a very big thing."
It was the clearest indication from Trump that he expects Israeli concessions for his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moving the US embassy there in May.
Trump emphasized that Jerusalem is "off the table" for negotiations, but he added that the Palestinians "will get something very good, because it's their turn next."
Israel occupied the eastern half of Jerusalem in a 1967 war and annexed the territory in a move that was never internationally recognized. The Palestinian Authority government demands East Jerusalem as their capital, while Israel says the city is their "united" capital.
The White House is still working on a peace plan, which it will release at an undisclosed time. The Palestinians have already rejected the plan out of hand.
On Wednesday, US national security adviser John Bolton, speaking during a visit to Israel, said that the Jerusalem move "was not an issue of quid pro quo."
