US Embassy move to Jerusalem ‘a hollow promise’
Pledge is emotional reaction to defeat at the UN, Palestinian envoy tells Arab News
LONDON: The US pledge to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is a hollow promise, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK has told Arab News.
“The issue of moving the embassy is going to take years and by that time we don’t know what will be the fate or the outcome of the peace process,” Manuel Hassassian said.
“So they can make statements as they wish now, but we know that they will be hollow in terms of implementation.”
Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, said after Thursday’s historic vote that the US would ignore it and move its embassy anyway.
“These are emotional reactions to a defeat,” Hassassian told Arab News. The UN vote, he said, was “a triumph that the Palestinians should be proud of, especially the diplomatic corps who worked diligently and hard to secure it.
“The vote reflects the justice of international law and it gives credibility to international legitimacy, which will put more pressure on us to get formal recognition of the state of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
The UN vote also delivered a message that unilateral acts by a superpower would not help the peace process, and nor would pre-empting the outcome of negotiations, Hassassian said.
“People have national interests, they look at justice and self-determination, and they see people are suffering under occupation. How could they side with the United States on such a thorny issue as Jerusalem, which is highly controversial?”
The emergency session of the UN General Assembly had been an opportunity for the international community to “express its perceptions on justice and the Palestinian cause for self-determination,” the ambassador said.
The vote had established momentum, and the aim now was to “capitalize on the voting system and try to get the countries that do not recognize Palestine to recognize Palestine.”
If the US wished to remain as an arbiter in the peace process it must “rescind its decision and come up with out-of-the-box ideas to bring the parties together,” he said. However, the US had shown that it was “on the side of the occupier” and was now in an “awkward position diplomatically.”
The ambassador also questioned whether the US would follow through on its threat to punish the 128 countries that voted for the resolution.
He pointed out that the resolution had merely restated the official UN position, which was that East Jerusalem was occupied territory and its final status would be determined only through negotiations.