Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Saturday condemned the decision by Serbia and Kosovo to open embassies in Jerusalem.
In a statement quoted by Palestinian Authority’s official WAFA news agency, Aboul Gheit said that this move is contrary to United Nations decision, international law, and Security Council resolutions that prohibit countries from moving their embassies to Jerusalem since it is considered occupied since 1967.
He stressed the Arab League’s firm position which considers Jerusalem to be one of the final status issues to be negotiated between the Palestinian Arab and Israeli sides.
Aboul Gheit indicated that ignoring international decisions and preempting the results of negotiations is a wrong and illegal act which severely impedes the chances of reaching a real peace based on the two-state solution.
On Friday it was announced that Serbia would be relocating its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem by July 2021 and that Kosovo would recognize Israel. These moves are included in an agreement on economic normalization between Serbia and Kosovo which was signed at a meeting with US President Donald Trump in the White House.
Senior PA official Saeb Erekat on Friday slammed Serbia's decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
"Palestine has become a victim of the electoral ambitions of President Trump, whose team would take any action, no matter how destructive for peace... to achieve his re-election" in November, tweeted Erekat, the Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).