By Laith Al-Jnaidi
AMMAN, Jordan (AA) – Jordan condemned on Wednesday an Israeli law banning foreign diplomatic missions in occupied East Jerusalem.
The legislation was approved by the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) on Tuesday night with a 29-7 vote.
In a statement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry denounced the law as “an effort to alter the demographic and legal landscape of the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.”
The ministry emphasized that all Israeli measures aimed at changing the city's status “are null and void under international law.”
It called on Israel to halt its “continuous violations of the historical and legal status quo in occupied Jerusalem,” referencing Israel's recent escalations in Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank.
“All Israeli moves to annex East Jerusalem contravene international law, UN Security Council resolutions, and a recent advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), reaffirming that Israel’s presence in Gaza and the West Bank remains an illegal occupation,” it added.
The Knesset’s new law prohibits foreign countries from opening consulates or representative offices in East Jerusalem unless they are accredited to Israel.
The Palestinians, backed by international consensus, see East Jerusalem as the capital of a hoped-for Palestinian state, while Israel maintains that all of Jerusalem is its capital.
In July, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark opinion that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.