Palestine welcomes Czech move on Jerusalem

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH (AA) – The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Monday welcomed the Czech Republic's rejection to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

In a statement, the ministry lauded the Czech "commitment to international resolutions and international law".

On Saturday, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis reiterated rejection to relocate his country's embassy in Israel, citing that the move would contradict with the stances of the EU and UN.

Last year, Czech President Milos Zeman promised a relocation of the embassy to Jerusalem during a speech before the Israeli Knesset (parliament).

Israel has been trying to convince world countries to transfer their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

So far, the U.S. and Guatemala have officially moved their embassies to Jerusalem.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the perennial Mideast conflict, with Palestinians hoping East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- might eventually serve as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.