CARACAS, December 7, 2017 (WAFA) – The Republic of Venezuela Thursday rejected US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and considered it an arbitrary and blatant violation of international law.

According to an official press release by the ministry of foreign affairs that was delivered to Venezuela’s embassy to Palestine, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro condemned the arbitrary decision made by the US to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the US embassy to Jerusalem.

The press release said the government of Venezuela rejects any arbitrary, unilateral not negotiated decisions, which aims to cement the illegal presence in Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories and annex the city of Jerusalem.

“Such measures undermine the sovereignty of Palestine and the Palestinian people and threaten peace and stability in the region and tragically affect the international efforts to reach a negotiated and peaceful solution that is just and permanent.”

Venezuela called for respecting the United Nation’s agreed upon resolutions and international efforts and stressed the importance of abiding by resolution number 2334 of 2016, in which the Security Council stressed that it will not recognize any change on the borders of 1967, even regarding Jerusalem, that has not been negotiated.

M.H