Coptic pope cancels meeting with Mike Pence following recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital

Pope Tawadros II, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, has canceled a meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence that was supposed to take place in Cairo, Egypt later this month following Washington's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

"Considering the decision taken by the US administration concerning the city of Jerusalem at this inappropriate time with no consideration to the feelings of millions of Arabs, the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church declines to meet with Mr Mike Pence," the Coptic Church said in a statement on Saturday, adding that it would pray for "wisdom ... to address all issues that impact peace for the people of the Middle East."

The Coptic church's announcement came after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas also stated that he will not meet with Pence when the vice president visits Egypt and Israel later this month.

"The United States has crossed all the red lines with the Jerusalem decision. There will be no meeting with the vice president of America in Palestine," an advisor to Abbas, told Agence France Presse.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the U.S. will begin the process of moving its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

However, the Trump administration stressed that the move was not intended to come on the side of Israel in its territorial disputes with Palestine, adding that the decision simply reflects the "fundamental truth" of Jerusalem's status.

"The president believes this is a recognition of reality. We're going forward on the basis of a truth that is undeniable. It's just a fact," a White House official told reporters.

The decision was denounced by Egypt, which maintained its official stance supporting the two-state solution, with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

Trump's announcement was hailed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but it sparked protests in Palestinian territories and Arab countries.

After midday prayers on Friday, about 5,000 Palestinian protesters demonstrated and clashed with Israeli security forces at almost 30 locations across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, according to Times of Israel.

In Jerusalem, hundreds of protesters gathered around the Al-Aqsa Mosque at the Temple Mount to burn Israeli flags.

Meanwhile, terrorist groups in Gaza fired rockets at Israel, with one landing in the southern town of Sderot, prompting Israel to respond by launching air strikes on Hamas targets. The Hamas-run health ministry announced on Saturday that two gunmen were killed in one of the air strikes on a Hamas facility in Nusseirat in the central Gaza Strip.