Envoys from 4 EU nations recalled
CZECH, ROMANIAN, HUNGARIAN, AUSTRIAN AMBASSADORS ATTENDED ISRAELI RECEPTION MARKING US EMBASSY MOVE
PNA action comes after Czech, Romanian, Hungarian and Austrian ambassadors attended Israeli reception to mark US embassy opening in Jerusalem |
The Palestinian National Authority has recalled its envoys to Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria after their ambassadors attended an Israeli reception marking the US embassy’s move to occupied Jerusalem, it said yesterday.
The statement from the PNA’s foreign ministry said the EU nations’ ambassadors had attended the reception on Sunday, a day before the US opened its Israel embassy in occupied Jerusalem.
The embassy move and Washington’s recognition of occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has deeply angered Palestinians, who see the Israeli-annexed eastern sector of the occupied city as the capital of their future state.
The ministry “sees this participation as a grave breach of international law and United Nations resolutions which confirm that Jerusalem has been occupied since 1967 and ban countries from moving their embassies there,” the statement said.
“The recalls are to consult with our ambassadors to these states about their positions and their commitment to the EU’s positions.” The European Union opposed the US move of its embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday withdrew his top envoy to Washington.
The embassy move was accompanied by mass protests and clashes along the Gaza border that saw Israeli occupation forces kill 62 Palestinians. The Israeli regime has faced international criticism over its use of live fire against demonstrators.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday said it was “blasphemous” to call dozens of peaceful protesters killed on the Gaza border by Israeli forces “terrorists”. “I cannot agree with the fact that dozens of peaceful civilians, including children and infants, who were killed in these incidents were terrorists. This is a blasphemous statement,” Lavrov said at a news conference in Moscow.
Arab League meeting
Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of Arab League member countries will convene in an extraordinary meeting in Cairo today to discuss the “Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people”.
The meeting was requested by Saudi Arabia, the chair of the Arab League since the Arab summit was held in April in the kingdom.
The meeting will also review the actions to be taken to confront the illegal US decision to transfer its embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem.
“The extraordinary meeting comes at the request of Saudi Arabia, and the ministers are expected to discuss the emergence of a unified Arab position against the crimes targeting the Palestinian people,” Husam Zaki, the deputy secretary general of the Arab League, said in a statement relayed by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The Gulf Cooperation Council on Tuesday condemned “the Israeli aggression on unarmed Palestinian civilians in Gaza Strip on Monday that resulted in dozens killed and thousands wounded.”