PA, Arab League criticizes opening of Czech office in Jerusalem | Arab League News

Prague opened the Jerusalem branch of the Israeli embassy last week in a move that was denied as a violation of international law.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Arab League have criticized the opening of a diplomatic office in Jerusalem as a violation of international law.

Prague opened the Jerusalem branch of the Israeli embassy, ​​located in Tel Aviv, on Thursday.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis was in attendance at the inauguration, two weeks after Israel sent 5,000 doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to the Czech Republic under a “vaccine diplomacy” program that later came under legal scrutiny and was frozen. .

The Palestinian foreign ministry on Saturday called the Prague move “a clear attack on the Palestinian people and their rights, a blatant violation of international law”, and said it would undermine peace opportunities.

In Cairo, Arab League General Secretary Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement: “The decision of one country or another to open representative offices will affect the legal status of Jerusalem. East Jerusalem is a land owned under International law. “

Confirming that the Jerusalem office was not an embassy, ​​the Czech Foreign Ministry said it wanted to strengthen Prague’s strategic partnership with Israel and improve services for Czech citizens there.

“The establishment of the office does not affect the will of the Czech Republic to further develop political and economic relations with the Palestinian Authority,” he said.

Jerusalem is at the heart of decades-long Middle East conflict, with the PA calling on East Jerusalem – which has been illegally occupied by Israel since 1967 – to become the capital of the Palestinian state.

‘Strategic’ partners

Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, Babis described Prague as Israel’s “strategic partner”, recalling how post-1948 Czechoslovakia helped it maintain its new independence. by increasing the delivery of fighter planes.

At the inauguration, Babis said it “represents another milestone in our collaboration, it is evidence that we see the importance of this city”.

Only two countries have full embassies in Jerusalem: the United States – after U.S. President Donald Trump broke with decades of U.S. policy to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel – and Guatemala.

The Czech Republic is one of Israel ‘s strongest supporters in the European Union.

While it formally supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it was named in a pre-trial decision by the International Criminal Court last month as one of the countries which supports Israel ‘s argument that the court should not investigate war crimes in occupied Palestine. areas.

Babis said on Thursday that his country considered the ICC’s decision to go ahead with an investigation “unfortunate,” saying: “While we respect the independence of the court, it does not The Czech Republic considers Palestine a state, so the court has no jurisdiction over it. “

Last month, Israel and Kosovo established diplomatic ties, with the Muslim-majority country recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

At the time, Israel’s foreign minister said he had approved Kosovo’s “formal request to open an embassy in Jerusalem”.

Kosovo also said it was ready to establish its Israeli mission in Jerusalem, in exchange for Israeli recognition, while trying to legitimize greater 2008 independence from Serbia and statehood.

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