Palestine Protests Malawi’s Plan to Open Embassy in Jerusalem

Ramallah, MINA – The Palestinian President’s special envoy, Hanan Jarrar, arrived in Malawi on Wednesday to submit a letter of protest from Mahmoud Abbas over the East African country’s plan to open its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem.

‘Any step taken to establish a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem is a violation of the relevant United Nations resolutions,” Jarrar said in a statement upon his arrival, Anadolu Agency reported.

The letter will be handed over to newly elected Malawian President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, who announced after elections in June this year that he would establish a diplomatic mission with Israel in Jerusalem.

Malawian Foreign Minister Eisenhower Mkaka on Tuesday said the south-eastern country would open a full embassy to Israel in Jerusalem in the summer of 2021.

Malawi will be the first African country to do so.

Mkaka who is currently visiting Israel called the decision a “bold and significant step”.

The Palestinian envoy said Jerusalem was still a disputed territory and called on all countries “that have established a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem to withdraw such a mission from the Holy City.”

Jarrar said the UN Security Council Resolution 476 (1980), recently reaffirmed by Resolution 2334 (2016), does not recognize any action that seeks to change the character and status of Jerusalem.

“Under the “international law, East Jerusalem is not legally part of Israel,” said Jarrar.

“Since Israel’s founding in 1948, the United States and the international community have refused to recognize the sovereignty of any state in any part of Jerusalem due to the absence of a permanent Arab-Israeli peace treaty,” he concluded.

Malawian opposition parliamentarians have also recently raised concerns about the opening of the embassy in Jerusalem. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)