Palestine has said that Colombia’s opening of an embassy in West Jerusalem violates international law and UN resolutions.
The Palestinian foreign ministry said on Wednesday the opening constituted “a flagrant violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions and an assault on the Palestinian people and their just and legitimate national rights.”
It stressed that all measures and decisions to change the legal and historical status of Jerusalem are “null and void and have no legal effect".
It said that “opening an embassy to Israel in occupied Jerusalem violates international legitimacy resolutions, particularly UN Security Council Resolutions 476 and 478.”
The two resolutions that were adopted in 1980 affirm the illegality and invalidity of Israeli measures intended to alter the character and legal status of Jerusalem, amid Israel’s enactment of a law annexing occupied East Jerusalem.
The ministry said Colombia’s move also “undermines the international consensus on the city’s legal status and infringes on the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights.”
It warned that the step encourages Israel to continue its “colonial policies and attempts to impose illegal realities on the ground".
The Palestinian foreign ministry urged Colombia to comply with international law and respect relevant UN resolutions, calling on it to “reverse this step to preserve prospects for achieving a just and comprehensive peace.”
Jordan
In a statement issued following the embassy’s opening, the Jordanian foreign ministry said the kingdom condemns and rejects the move.
The ministry stressed that any measures or decisions aimed at changing the status or legal standing of Jerusalem are “null and void, illegitimate and without legal effect.”
It said the only way to achieve a just and comprehensive peace is to establish an independent, sovereign Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967, lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry condemned and denounced the move, describing it as a “blatant violation of international law and relevant international resolutions.”
It said the move contradicts the established international position on Jerusalem’s legal and historical status.
Riyadh renewed its demand for the international community, including the UN Security Council and all concerned parties, to fulfil their “legal and moral responsibilities” and act urgently to halt “illegal Israeli policies aimed at imposing a new reality by force and undermining prospects for a just and lasting peace.”
Jerusalem remains at the heart of Israel’s dispossession of Palestinians and subsequent occupation of Palestinian lands and is widely regarded as one of its most sensitive issues.
While Israel claims the entire city as its capital, Palestinians view East Jerusalem, occupied by Israel since 1967, as the capital of a future Palestinian state, in line with longstanding international consensus and UN resolutions.
