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Palestinians Condemn European Countries that Block Statement on American Embassy Shift

Posted By Michael Friedson On In Mideast Daily News

A statement condemning the Trump administration’s move of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem that was intended to represent the European Union was derailed due to objections by Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic. On Saturday, the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement condemning the positions of the trio of EU states, arguing that their actions fly in the face of official EU policy. More than criticizing their position, the ministry accused the three states of committing a “clear breach of international law, UN resolutions, the Geneva Conventions and human rights principles,” by encouraging Israel to continue violating the same. European Union member states were not on hand on Monday when a temporary embassy building was dedicated in Jerusalem under the patronage of President Trump’s daughter and son-in-law Jared and Ivanka, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. On Monday, the Palestinians were stung by an American veto of a Kuwaiti resolution in the United Nations Security Council that would have facilitated an investigation of the Gaza protests and express “rage and sorrow” over the deaths related to the protests. On Monday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called the American embassy a “new settlement.” Reiterating his position that the president’s Jerusalem declaration and move of the embassy rule out any possible role the Americans might play in subsequent moves for peace. Spokesman Abu Rudeinah further explained that the US action was “insulting” to the Palestinians, the Arab world and to the Islamic nation, creating “incitement and instability.”