RAMALLAH, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat on Thursday blasted U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman's statement over the Palestinian cause.

"The extremist Friedman is pushing toward a religious war using the destructive thought and religious discourse," Erekat said in an interview with the official Palestinian radio station Voice of Palestine.

"Friedman and his likes of extremists have pushed President Donald Trump to make decisions against the Palestinian cause," he added.

The PLO senior official vowed that the Palestinian leadership will continue to call for the annulment of the U.S. decisions on Jerusalem and the Palestine refugees.

Friedman said on Tuesday evening at a reception held in his residence in Israel's coastal city of Herzliya that the Trump administration has "slayed the sacred cow of the calcified thinking that has held back progress on the Palestinian front."

"The U.S. did not make Jerusalem the capital of Israel. That was done by King David some 3,000 years ago under God's direction," he added.

The Palestinians have boycotted Washington since it recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved its embassy to Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, they referred to the U.S. "Deal of the Century," put forward by Trump to resolve the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as being far from their expectations and aspirations for a lasting and just peace settlement.