FIJI’S decision to open its embassy in Jerusalem is an act of aggression against the Palestinian people and their rights, says the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.
A statement condemning the decision was released after Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka announced plans to move the country’s embassy to Jerusalem.
“With this decision, Fiji becomes the seventh country to violate international law and UN resolutions regarding the city’s legal and political status and the rights of the Palestinian people,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said.
“This decision is an act of aggression against the Palestinian people and their rights. It places Fiji on the wrong side of history, harms the chances of achieving peace based on the two-state solution, and represents unacceptable support for the occupation and its crimes.
“It also blatantly defies UN resolutions at a time when the occupying power is escalating its attacks against Palestinians across all of the Palestinian Territory, attempting to displace them from their homeland.”
The ministry further stated it would continue to take political, diplomatic and legal action against countries that opened or moved their embassies to Jerusalem. The statement said Palestine would work to hold these countries accountable for their unjustified actions against the Palestinian people and their rights.
“Accordingly, the ministry demands that the Fijian Government immediately reverse this provocative decision.”
When asked about the statement, Education Minister and SODELPA leader Aseri Radrodro said he had not seen the statement.
“I had a meeting with the Palestinian ambassador based in Canberra this week and nothing of such was raised to me,” he said. “We met at the education office, but they were coming to me for a separate issue. They didn’t raise the issue on that. Once I read the statement, then I’ll give my reply.”
