Cancelling Pence-Abbas meeting would be 'counterproductive': WH aide

WASHINGTON: The White House warned Thursday that canceling a planned meeting between Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Vice President Mike Pence in the wake of the US policy shift on Jerusalem would be "counterproductive."

Amid suggestions that Abbas may withdraw from a planned meeting later this month, a White House aide said Pence "still plans to meet with Abbas as scheduled" and "believes it would be counterproductive for him to pull out of the meeting."

Pence is due to travel to Egypt and Israel in the second half of December, a visit that has taken on extra significance in the wake of President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.