Hamas, OIC, Palestine PM censure Kosovo decision to open embassy in Jerusalem al-Quds

  In a press release on Monday, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said Kosovo’s move was in sheer violation of international resolutions and humanitarian considerations, the Palestinian Information Center reported. The decision by Kosovo, a partially-recognized state and disputed territory in Southeastern Europe, showed a blatant bias in favor of Israel, he said. Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, sparked controversy by officially recognizing Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s ‘capital’ in December 2017, before moving the US Embassy there from Tel Aviv in May the next year. Israel lays claim to the entire Jerusalem al-Quds, but the international community views the city’s eastern sector as occupied territory and Palestinians consider it the capital of their future state. Kosovo opened its diplomatic mission in Jerusalem al-Quds on Sunday, weeks after establishing relations with Israel. The Hamas official said Kosovo had been encouraged to make such a decision following the normalization of relations between Israel and some Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain. Qassem also stressed that Jerusalem al-Quds would remain Palestinian and its Arab identity would never be erased. OIC decries Kosovo, Czech for opening embassies in al-Quds In a statement on Monday, the General Secretariat of the OIC censured Kosovo and the Czech Republic for opening their diplomatic missions in the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds, the official Palestinian Wafa news agency reported. This illegal act “violates international law and all relevant UN resolutions, particularly UN Security Council resolution 478, which prohibits the establishment of diplomatic missions in the occupied city,” it said. The OIC also called for abstaining from holding prejudice toward the historical, legal, and political status of the occupied city, which forms an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. Arab League renews dismissal of Trump’s recognition of Quds as Israeli ‘capital’