Article snippet: Hours after 65 countries abstained, voted absent, or voted against a United Nations resolution condemning President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Mahmoud Abbas has denied that is still the case. “We will not accept the U.S. as the mediator in the peace process, nor are we going to accept any plan from the U.S. side,” he said in his Christmas letter to the Palestinian people. Trump’s new stance on Jerusalem could also hurt U.S. efforts to lead the Middle East peace process. The Trump administration says it believes it can still be an arbiter of any settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians – but Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has denied that is still the case. “We will not accept the U.S. as the mediator in the peace process, nor are we going to accept any plan from the U.S. side,” he said in his Christmas letter to the Palestinian people. ABC News' Molly Hunter contributed to this report. Link to the full article to read more