Palestine Urges Boycott of States Moving Embassies to Quds
The US moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds on May 14. Guatemala was the first to follow suit and inaugurated its own mission there two days later.
Paraguay also opened its mission in the occupied city on Monday, with President Horacio Cartes and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attending the ceremony.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry described the inauguration of the Paraguayan embassy in Jerusalem al-Quds as illegal, an act of aggression against the Palestinian people, a violation of relevant United Nations resolutions, and submission to American and Israeli dictates and bribes.
Additionally, the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) denounced Paraguay’s move and called for an Arab boycott of the states that move their embassies to Jerusalem al-Quds.
Saeb Erekat called the Paraguayan president “an irresponsible political leader” who had defied international law, Press TV reported.
“By opening its embassy in Jerusalem, Paraguay is violating United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 as well as the very dignity of the peoples of Latin America that have struggled for freedom and justice against domination and oppression,” Erekat said.
He further noted that the Palestinian Authority is in contact with its allies to take the necessary diplomatic steps against the relocation of the embassies of Paraguay, Guatemala, and the US, to Jerusalem al-Quds.
“We particularly call upon Arab countries that host diplomatic missions of these countries to implement the previous resolutions of the Arab League of 1980, 1990 and 2000 to ‘severing all ties with states that transfer their embassies to Jerusalem or recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,’” the PLO secretary general added.
Earlier this month, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Latin American states not to copy the contentious US mission transfer to Jerusalem al-Quds during a visit to Venezuela.
The relocation came months after US President Donald Trump announced that Washington was recognizing the occupied city as the “capital” of Israel.
The announcement sparked widespread condemnations and protests both in Palestinian lands and elsewhere in the world.
Israel lays claim to the whole Jerusalem al-Quds, but the international community views the city’s eastern sector as occupied territory and Palestinians consider it as the capital of their future state.
