Palestine says Colombia’s opening of embassy in West Jerusalem violates international law

Palestine said Wednesday that Colombia’s opening of an embassy in West Jerusalem violates international law and UN resolutions, Anadolu reports.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said 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 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.”

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In addition to Colombia, the US, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Fiji, Nauru and Somalia’s breakaway region have moved their embassies to West Jerusalem or opened embassies in the city, a move that runs counter to international resolutions concerning the status of Jerusalem.

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.”

Earlier Wednesday, Colombia opened the embassy in West Jerusalem. The move follows the restoration of its diplomatic relations with Israel in August, after Colombia severed ties with Tel Aviv in May 2024 under a previous government.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 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.

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