Palestine to ICJ: Make US remove embassy from al-Quds
Palestine has filed an official complaint with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the United States’ relocation of its Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds, saying the highly controversial and provocative move must be reversed as it violates an international treaty.
The United Nations’ principal judicial organ announced in a statement on Friday that the Palestinian suit had requested the court “to order the United States of America to withdraw (its) diplomatic mission from the Holy City of Jerusalem al-Quds.”
The World Court also said the complaint, sent from the Palestinian Authority (PA) led by President Mahmoud Abbas, argues that the 1961 Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations requires a country to locate its embassy on the territory of a host state. This is while the Israeli regime controls Jerusalem al-Quds militarily.
The US-Palestine ties deteriorated last December, when US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel and announced plans to transfer the embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city, triggering widespread anger both inside and outside the occupied territories.
The US embassy relocation, however, took place on May 14, the eve of the 70th anniversary of Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), sparking deadly clashes in the besieged Gaza Strip.
