RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian leadership — represented by the PLO Executive Committee, Fatah Central Committee, the heads of security services in the West Bank and the secretaries of the Palestinian factions — held Dec. 18 the first meeting to discuss an appropriate response to US President Donald Trump's Jerusalem decision at the presidential headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. On Dec. 6, Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced the transfer of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv.

In his speech at the opening of the meeting — 12 days after Trump's decision — President Mahmoud Abbas announced that Palestine has ratified 22 international conventions and treaties in a bid to strengthen the Palestinian state legal personality. He also announced that the Palestinian Authority (PA) will no longer accept the US peace process mediation and that Palestine will seek full membership at the United Nations. Abbas also declared his intention to take political and diplomatic action against Trump's decision, without elaborating on the details.

In his speech at the meeting, Abbas reiterated the main points raised in a joint press conference Dec. 13 with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the urgent summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Istanbul. At the conference, Abbas asserted that he will resort to the UN Security Council to nullify Trump’s declaration and also said that he will seek full membership for Palestine at the United Nations.

So far, Abbas has been adopting a policy of deliberation in responding to Trump's decision. To this moment — except for signing the 22 treaties and refusing to receive US Vice President Mike Pence — the official Palestinian response to the US Jerusalem decision remains a mere statement of measures and decisions to be taken, which have yet to materialize.