Qatar, Jordan call on Guatemala to retract embassy move

By Ahmed al-Masri and Laith al-Juneidi, Ali H. M.Abo Rezeg

DOHA/AMMAN

Qatar and Jordan on Tuesday blasted Guatemala’s recent decision to relocate its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“The Guatemalan decision runs contrary to the international consensus embodied by the UN General Assembly's recent overwhelming rejection of the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital [by the U.S.] and the assembly’s call to refrain from establishing diplomatic missions there," read a Tuesday statement issued by Qatar’s Foreign Ministry.

“We consider this decision [by Guatemala] to be null and void and of no legal significance," it added, going on to voice hope that Guatemala would reconsider the move.

Jordan, meanwhile, described the Guatemalan decision as a “provocative act” and a “violation of international resolutions”.

"We reject Guatemala’s decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem," Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi tweeted late Monday.

"[Israel-] Occupied Jerusalem is the capital of the Palestinian state, the establishment of which -- on pre-1967 borders -- remains a precondition for achieving peace in the region," he added.

On Sunday, following a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales announced that his country -- following Washington’s lead -- would move its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The following day, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry blasted the move as “a brazen act of disrespect… to the collective positions of international alliances and groups to which Guatemala is a party”.

Morales’s declaration came some three weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital -- a move that has drawn condemnation and protest from across the Arab and Muslim world.

Last week, the UN's 193-member General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on the U.S. to withdraw its recognition of the flashpoint city as Israel's capital.

A total of 128 member-states voted in favor of the motion, nine voted against it -- Guatemala among them -- and 35 abstained. Twenty-one member-states did not cast ballots.

Unlike resolutions adopted by the 15-member UN Security Council, UN General Assembly resolutions are considered non-binding.