By The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Palestinian leader meets Saturday with Pope Francis as he rallies international support ahead of this weekend’s Paris peace summit.

Among other things, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to raise with Francis Palestinian concern about a possible move of the U.S. embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The Palestinians strongly oppose the move, saying it would kill any hopes for negotiating peace and rile the region by undercutting Muslim and Christian claims to the holy city.

The Vatican has long sought an internationally guaranteed status for Jerusalem that safeguards its sacred character.

After the papal audience, Abbas will open an embassy of his own: The Palestinian embassy to the Holy See, fruit of recent accords in which the Vatican formally recognized the “Palestinian state.”</s>Pope Francis welcomes Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during a private audience on May 16, 2015 in Vatican VATICAN CITY - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was set to meet Saturday with Pope Francis as he rallies international support ahead of this weekend's Paris peace summit. Among other things, Abbas was expected to raise with Francis Palestinian concern about a possible move of the US embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Times of Israel.</s>In spite of the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority’s endorsement of a peace conference being held in Paris on Sunday, other Palestinian factions were opposed to the premise of the international summit, and said they were not expecting any diplomatic breakthroughs.

Kayid al-Ghoul, a senior leader in the Gaza Strip for the left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) told Ma’an on Sunday that he expected the administration of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to turn to the United States to foil any possible outcome, five days ahead of the inauguration of US President-Elect Donald Trump — a vocal supporter of illegal Israeli settlements.

Al-Ghoul said that the premise of the conference, which is expected to recommend the resumption of peace negotiations toward a two-state solution, meant “bypassing the right of return and self determination” for Palestinians.

Similarly, Daoud Shihab, a senior Islamic Jihad official in Gaza, described the conference as merely another attempt to resume a peace process “that Israel has already killed and buried, while the international community still refuses to admit that Israel is the main source” of the crisis.

He also warned that Netanyahu’s “terrorist government” could react to the outcome of the conference with more demolitions of Palestinian homes and land confiscations in the occupied territory. Last month, Israel responded to a UN resolution condemning illegal settlements by approving new settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem.

A Gaza-based leader within the left-wing Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Talal Abu Tharifa, also warned of a possibility that the conference may create “low standards” regarding Palestinian rights.

He highlighted Israel’s belligerent opposition to any international intervention in the peace process by pointing to how Israel has been outraged over the mere fact the conference was held in the first place.

In his weekly cabinet remarks on Sunday, Netanyahu slammed the Paris conference, calling it “useless.” “I must say that this conference is among the last twitches of yesterday’s world. Tomorrow’s world will be different — and it is very near,” the Israeli prime minister ominously declared.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has welcomed the conference, and told French daily Le Figaro on Saturday that he believed the summit could be be the last chance to implement the two-state solution, saying that “2017 has to be the year the occupation ends, the year of freedom and justice for the Palestinian people.”

However, an increasing number of Palestinians say the prospect of a two-state reality has become dimmer, amid an a growing extremism among Israel’s right-wing government and public, and a surge in illegal Israeli settlement construction that has now obtained the stamp of approval by US President-elect Donald Trump.

A number of Palestinian activists have criticized the two-state solution as unsustainable and unlikely to bring durable peace, proposing instead a binational state with equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians.</s>"We are very grateful about the role that the Holy See has played for a just and lasting peace in the Holy Land, and for having opened an embassy of Palestine in the Vatican for first time," Abbas said, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA

"We are proud to be the birthplace of Christianity and about having one of the oldest Christian communities in the world."

Issa Kassissieh, the Palestinian ambassador to the Holy See, called the move "a significant achievement for the Palestinian people," WAFA said.

Israel has yet to respond to news of the opening.

Many other countries, including Israel, have embassies in Vatican City. Vatican policy has long held that a two-state solution is the best road to peace in the Holy Land, and Francis has taken steps to raise the profile of a Palestinian state. The Vatican had referred to Palestine as a state since November 2012, when the United Nations voted to recognize it as a nonmember observer state. Francis broke ground by formally recognizing Palestinian statehood in a legal document in May 2015. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas applauds the opening of the Palestinian Embassy in Vatican City. Also in 2015, Francis declared nuns Marie Alphonsine Ghattas and Mariam Baouardy the first two Palestinian saints of modern times. In June 2014, Francis hosted Abbas and late Israeli President Shimon Peres for an unprecedented prayer ceremony at the Vatican. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution In September 2015 allowing the "State of Palestine" and the Vatican to raise their flags outside of UN headquarters and UN offices. At the Vatican on Saturday, Abbas said he planned to attend a conference the following day in Paris to explore ways to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. US Secretary of State John Kerry is among officials from more than 70 nations who plan to attend the conference. Israel has said it will not participate.</s>Pope Francis welcomes Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during a private audience on May 16, 2015 in Vatican VATICAN CITY - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was set to meet Saturday with Pope Francis as he rallies international support ahead of this weekend's Paris peace summit. Among other things, Abbas was expected to raise with Francis Palestinian concern about a possible move of the US embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Times of Israel.</s>"We are very grateful about the role that the Holy See has played for a just and lasting peace in the Holy Land, and for having opened an embassy of Palestine in the Vatican for first time," Abbas said, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA

"We are proud to be the birthplace of Christianity and about having one of the oldest Christian communities in the world."

Issa Kassissieh, the Palestinian ambassador to the Holy See, called the move "a significant achievement for the Palestinian people," WAFA said.

Israel has yet to respond to news of the opening.

Many other countries, including Israel, have embassies in Vatican City. Vatican policy has long held that a two-state solution is the best road to peace in the Holy Land, and Francis has taken steps to raise the profile of a Palestinian state. The Vatican had referred to Palestine as a state since November 2012, when the United Nations voted to recognize it as a nonmember observer state. Francis broke ground by formally recognizing Palestinian statehood in a legal document in May 2015. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas applauds the opening of the Palestinian Embassy in Vatican City. Also in 2015, Francis declared nuns Marie Alphonsine Ghattas and Mariam Baouardy the first two Palestinian saints of modern times. In June 2014, Francis hosted Abbas and late Israeli President Shimon Peres for an unprecedented prayer ceremony at the Vatican. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution In September 2015 allowing the "State of Palestine" and the Vatican to raise their flags outside of UN headquarters and UN offices. At the Vatican on Saturday, Abbas said he planned to attend a conference the following day in Paris to explore ways to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. US Secretary of State John Kerry is among officials from more than 70 nations who plan to attend the conference. Israel has said it will not participate.</s>VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Palestinian leader meets Saturday with Pope Francis as he rallies international support ahead of this weekend's Paris peace summit.

Among other things, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to raise with Francis Palestinian concern about a possible move of the U.S. embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The Palestinians strongly oppose the move, saying it would kill any hopes for negotiating peace and rile the region by undercutting Muslim and Christian claims to the holy city.

The Vatican has long sought an internationally guaranteed status for Jerusalem that safeguards its sacred character.

After the papal audience, Abbas will open an embassy of his own: The Palestinian embassy to the Holy See, fruit of recent accords in which the Vatican formally recognized the "Palestinian state."</s>Alwaght- Palestinian authority raised the possibility of US embassy relocation in his recent visit with Pope Francis on Saturday.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he discussed the issue of moving US embassy from Tel Aviv to al-Quds (Jerusalem) during a meeting with Vatican head.

"We are waiting to see if it happens. If it does, it will not help peace and we hope it does not happen," said Abbas while addressing reporters outside the Vatican gates following a meeting with the pope.

Abbas was in Italy to open the new embassy of the State of Palestine in the Vatican, which he said was "a sign that the pope loves the people of Palestine and loves peace."

US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to relocate the embassy from Tel Aviv to al-Quds, which is regarded by Palestinians as their future capital. The controversial decision has evoked Palestinians' bitter opposition.

The Vatican has unconditionally recognized a Palestinian state for years but made it official in 2015 by signing a treaty with the State of Palestine.

In an interview with France’s Le Figaro newspaper on Saturday, Abbas said he had penned a letter to Trump in which he had warned of the danger of relocating the embassy.

"Not only would it strip the United States of all its legitimacy to play a role in resolving the conflict, but it would reduce to nothing a two-state solution," he said.

In September, Trump, who was the Republican presidential front-runner at the time, promised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would recognize al-Quds as Israeli undivided capital if he emerged triumphant in the US presidential election.</s>"We are very grateful about the role that the Holy See has played for a just and lasting peace in the Holy Land, and for having opened an embassy of Palestine in the Vatican for first time," Abbas said, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA

"We are proud to be the birthplace of Christianity and about having one of the oldest Christian communities in the world."

Issa Kassissieh, the Palestinian ambassador to the Holy See, called the move "a significant achievement for the Palestinian people," WAFA said.

Israel has yet to respond to news of the opening.

Many other countries, including Israel, have embassies in Vatican City. Vatican policy has long held that a two-state solution is the best road to peace in the Holy Land, and Francis has taken steps to raise the profile of a Palestinian state. The Vatican had referred to Palestine as a state since November 2012, when the United Nations voted to recognize it as a nonmember observer state. Francis broke ground by formally recognizing Palestinian statehood in a legal document in May 2015. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas applauds the opening of the Palestinian Embassy in Vatican City. Also in 2015, Francis declared nuns Marie Alphonsine Ghattas and Mariam Baouardy the first two Palestinian saints of modern times. In June 2014, Francis hosted Abbas and late Israeli President Shimon Peres for an unprecedented prayer ceremony at the Vatican. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution In September 2015 allowing the "State of Palestine" and the Vatican to raise their flags outside of UN headquarters and UN offices. At the Vatican on Saturday, Abbas said he planned to attend a conference the following day in Paris to explore ways to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. US Secretary of State John Kerry is among officials from more than 70 nations who plan to attend the conference. Israel has said it will not participate.</s>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has labeled an international peace conference in Paris aimed at solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as "useless". The conference, which is being attended by some 70 countries, started Sunday morning to discuss how to bring both sides to the negotiating table and maintain support for a two-state solution.

Start the conversation, or Read more at WHBF-TV Rock Island.
The Palestinian National Authority prepares to open an embassy in the Vatican City, just one day before a Palestinian peace conference in Paris.