WASHINGTON �� Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Sunday that the final status of Jerusalem should be "should be decided between the Palestinians and the Israelis."
Haley's comments, reiterating U.S. policy, came after President Donald Trump angered world leaders, including close U.S. allies, with his decision to recognize the disputed city as Israel's capital. Trump said last week that the U.S. will move its embassy there from Tel Aviv.
"The president, if you notice, in his speech, he made a point not to talk about borders or boundaries," Haley said on "Fox News Sunday." "No outside group should decide what the final status looks like."
Asked if East Jerusalem could end up the capital of a Palestinian state, Haley said the U.S. "will respect anything that the two parties come together on."
Haley said Trump's decision could "fastball" the peace process, echoing a comment by national security adviser H. R. McMaster that moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv could give "momentum" to peace talks.
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., the ranking minority member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, said Sunday that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel but that Trump fails to recognize the need to engage multiple parties in the peace process.
"The president is damaging America's national security and our standing in the world for his inability to use diplomacy in the right way," Cardin said on ABC's "This Week.
