Palestine has filed an official complaint at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the United States’ relocation of its Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds, stressing the need to reverse the highly controversial and unlawful move.
The ICJ on Friday said it has received a complaint from the “State of Palestine” against the United States, arguing that the US government’s placement of its embassy in Jerusalem violates the 1961 Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations that requires a country to locate its embassy on the territory of a host state. While Israel controls Jerusalem militarily, its ownership is disputed.
The ICJ, known as the World Court, announced in its statement that the Palestinian suit had requested the court “to order the United States of America to withdraw (its) diplomatic mission from the Holy City of Jerusalem.”
In December, US President Donald Trump ordered the American embassy in Israel relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and the new embassy opened in May.
The relocation took place on May 14, the eve of the 70th anniversary of Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), sparking deadly clashes in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The contentious move led Abbas to formally declare that the Palestinians would no longer accept the US as a mediator to resolve the conflict because Washington was “completely biased” towards Tel Aviv.
The ICJ is the United Nations’ venue for resolving disputes between nations. Palestine was recognized by the UN General Assembly in 2012 as a non-member observer state.
