Meeting in a royal palace on a hilltop in Amman, Jordan, the king told Pence he had warned the White House about the danger of recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital outside of a negotiated agreement since Palestinians also claim the divided city as their capital in a future independent state. Osama Qawasmi, Fatah’s spokesman in the West Bank, also told Xinhua that, “Pence’s visit to the region is totally unwelcome since he is a blind supporter of Israel.”

 The head of Israel’s Arab coalition party also vowed to boycott Pence’s visit, asserting that he could cause “the destruction of the entire region.”

 “We were asked if there’s a change in our position regarding Pence’s visit… He is a dangerous man with a messianic vision that includes the destruction of the entire region,” Ayman Odeh, wrote on Twitter. Pence told reporters in Cairo on Sunday that Egypt’s objection to the decision is “disagreement between friends,” adding “We heard President el-Sisi out.”

 Even before making the decision, Trump had shattered any prospects of the two-state solution, but Pence still assured Sisi that he would pursue the so-called solution. After Trump’s Dec. 6 announcement on Jerusalem, the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, said he would not receive Pence — and vowed further never again to take part in peace negotiations brokered by the United States. The Palestinian Follow-up Committee for the National and Islamic Forces in the Gaza Strip said Pence’s visit to Israel “is a reflection of the American bias towards the Israeli occupation and its racist policies.”

It warned that the policies of the US administration “will push the region towards explosion and end any possibility for peace and stability in the Holy Land and the world at large.”

Deputy Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, who is also a senior Hamas leader, Ahmed Bahr, said Pence’s visit to Israel is not welcomed.
Abdullah II of Jordan tells U.S. Vice President Mike Pence the U.S. has to rebuild "trust and confidence" to achieve a two-state solution in Israel after the U.S. recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital.