Palestine's Abbas to address UN Security Council Feb 20

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will address the UN Security Council on Feb. 20, the Kuwaiti ambassador to the UN announced Thursday.

Mansour Al-Otaibi, who is also the council's president for the month of February, said Abbas will address the group for a regular session on the Middle East.

The invitation follows U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December. The move was widely seen as undercutting longstanding arrangements underpinning the peace process

Jerusalem remains at the core of the Middle East conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- might eventually serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.

In a rare moment of political theater on Monday, the Palestinian delegation to the UN chided the U.S. after Washington's representative announced the U.S. would sever its aid to Palestine unless Ramallah recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Using a mobile phone to play music, the technocrats burst out into dance in a cheeky rebuttal.

*Betul Yuruk contributed to this report from the United Nations