• Palestinian Foreign Ministry called the move ‘a blatant attack on the Palestinian people’
• Czech Republic is one of Israel’s strongest supporters in the European Union

RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Authority and the Arab League on Saturday condemned the Czech Republic’s opening of a diplomatic office in Jerusalem, calling it a violation of international law.

Prague opened a Jerusalem branch of its Israel embassy, which is located in Tel Aviv, on Thursday. Its inauguration, attended by Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, was two weeks after Israel sent several thousand COVID-19 vaccine doses to the Czech Republic.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it considered Prague’s move “a blatant attack on the Palestinian people and their rights, a flagrant violation of international law,” and said it would harm peace prospects.

In Cairo, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement: “The legal status of Jerusalem will be affected by the decision of one country or another to open representative offices. East Jerusalem is an occupied land under the International law.”

Reuters