Jerusalem, January 3 (RHC)-- Palestinian officials voiced outrage on Wednesday over President Donald Trump’s threat to cut funding to the Palestinian Authority, calling his tweets “blackmail” in the aftermath of the U.S. administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s office rebuffed the U.S. leader’s remarks, saying that “Jerusalem is not for sale, neither for gold nor silver.”

On Tuesday Trump put the blame of the lack of progress in peace negotiations on the Palestinians.

“We pay the Palestinians HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect,” he tweeted.

“But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?”, he added.

Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said the Palestinians “will not be blackmailed” by the president, adding that Trump “singlehandedly destroyed the very foundations of peace” by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital last month.

“Trump has sabotaged our search for peace, freedom and justice,” she said Wednesday.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said that president Trump doesn’t want to give more funds “until the Palestinians are willing to come back to the negotiation table.”

“We still very much want to have a peace process. Nothing changes with that. The Palestinians now have to show they want to come to the table,” Haley said.