RAMALLAH, March 5, 2018 (WAFA) - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates strongly condemn on Monday the statement made by the Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales at the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Washington D.C. regarding his decision to move the Guatemalan embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem next May, two days after the American administration is expected to do that step.

“This decision completely violates international law and international resolutions, it is considered a direct aggression against the Palestinians and their legitimate rights,” said the ministry in a statement, adding that it believes that “Morales and the extremist religious ideology he represents is backed up by (US President Donald) Trump’s disastrous declaration regarding transferring the American embassy to Occupied Jerusalem.”

The Palestinian ministry called upon the Guatemalan people and their various representatives “to continue exerting pressure to push their government to back down from this unjust decision, which threatens the friendly relations between the Guatemalan and Palestinian people.”

It said this decision specially harms the image of Guatemala and its relations and interests with the Arab and Islamic worlds.

The Foreign Ministry said it is following up this serious issue at various levels; in which it will work through the Palestinian community in Guatemala and through lawyers and legal experts to pursue this issue at local courts, including the Constitutional Court in Guatemala, in addition to practical steps that will be taken in coordination with friendly countries to impose an economic trade boycott on Guatemala and to mobilize the greatest possible pressure to discourage the Guatemalan president from implementing this decision.

“At the same time, the ministry calls on all countries to affirm their rejection of both the American and the Guatemalan declarations, which are a flagrant violation of international legitimacy and international resolutions, particularly that Jerusalem is an integral part of the Palestinian occupied territories since 1967, and claiming otherwise is a flagrant violation of international law, the Geneva Conventions and the signed agreements.”

M.K.