Aboul Gheit: Kosovo Violates Int'nal Law by Opening Embassy in Jerusalem  

The Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, condemned Kosovo in the strongest terms the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and its decision to open an embassy there.

Aboul Gheit affirmed that "the decision is a disgrace to legitimacy and constitutes a violation of international law, which considers the city of Jerusalem an occupied territory, and it is prohibited to transfer embassies to it."

An official source at the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States stressed that "the Kosovo decision" violates the international consensus regarding the opening of embassies in occupied Jerusalem.

Only two countries have so far violated, namely the United States and Guatemala."

The UN Security Council issued Resolution 478 (1980), which condemns Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem, and prohibits countries from establishing diplomatic missions in the city.

The source quoted Aboul Gheit as saying that "the opening of an embassy for any country in Jerusalem does not change the fact that the city is under occupation, and its fate can only be decided by negotiation, considering Jerusalem as one of the most important issues of the final solution between the Palestinian and Israeli parties."

The recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel contradicts the logic of the peace settlement and the two-state solution.

On Monday, Israel and Kosovo signed an agreement to establish diplomatic relations, and the signing ceremony took place, in a virtual official ceremony, with the participation of Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and his Kosovar counterpart Melisa Haradinaj Stubla.

During a signing ceremony held on the "Zoom" platform, Ashkenazi said that the new relations are "historic" and "reflect a change in the region, and in the Arab and Islamic worlds' relations with Israel

Ashkenazi added that he had received an official request from Kosovo to establish an embassy in Jerusalem, which Israeli officials hope will open at the end of March.