‘The US has crossed all the red lines’: Head of Egypt’s Coptic Church and Palestinian President will shun Mike Pence when he visits the Middle East in response to Trump declaring Jerusalem Israel’s capital
Pope Tawadros II, the head of the Coptic Church of Alexandria, was due to meet Pence later this month in Cairo
On Friday, he announced that he now ‘declines to receive’ the Vice President
He said the decision by Trump to name Jerusalem Israel’s capital ‘did not take into account the feelings of millions of Arab people’
Egypt’s top Muslim cleric, Ahmed al-Tayeb, has also refused to meet Pence when he visits
There were protests on the streets of Cairo when Trump announced he will move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem
Israel’s prime minister welcomed the decision and described it as a ‘historic day’
DAILYMAIL.COM
9 December 2017
Egypt’s Coptic Church head Pope Tawadros II and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas will both shun Mike Pence when he visits the Middle East later this month in response to the White House acknowledging Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Pope Tawadros has cancelled a scheduled meeting with Pence in Cairo.
He said President Trump’s decision ‘did not take into account the feelings of millions of Arab people’.
‘The Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church declines to receive American Vice President Mike Pence,’ the church said in a statement, adding it would pray for ‘wisdom and to address all issues that impact peace for the people of the Middle East.’
An Abbas aide said this week that he will also shun the US Vice President.
‘There will be no meeting with the vice president of America in Palestine,’ Abbas’s diplomatic adviser Majdi al-Khaldi told AFP.
‘The United States has crossed all the red lines with the Jerusalem decision,’ he added.
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