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Palestinian Officials Protest Malawi's Plan to Open Embassy in Jerusalem

Lameck Masina

   BLANTYRE, MALAWI - Palestinian authorities are protesting Malawi's plan
   to open an embassy in Jerusalem, which, if carried out, would make it
   the first African country to do so. Palestinian Authority President
   Mahmoud Abbas sent an envoy to Malawi Thursday asking President Lazarus
   Chakwera to withdraw the plan, calling it a violation of a U.N.
   resolution on the disputed territory.

   Briefing reporters after presenting a protest letter to Chakwera at the
   State House in the capital Lilongwe, Palestinian envoy Hanan Jarrar
   said Malawi's decision is a cause of great concern.
   "This is a main concern for us. This is the issue of sovereignty; this
   is the issue of recognizing the state of Palestine. This is the issue
   of violating international law and violating international parameters
   when it comes to the status of Jerusalem," Jarrar said.
   The letter from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked Chakwera to
   reconsider Malawi's plans for an embassy in Jerusalem. Israel considers
   the city its eternal capital, but Palestinians want East Jerusalem,
   seized in a 1967 Middle East war, as part of a future state.
   Jarrar said Jerusalem is still a disputed territory and any action that
   seeks to alter the character and status of the city violates U.N.
   Security Council Resolution 476, approved in 1980 and reaffirmed in
   2016 by Resolution 2334.
   "Malawi should be with international community. Malawi shouldn't choose
   to be on the wrong side of history. Malawi shouldn't choose to follow
   an apartheid state," Jarrar said.
   Currently, only the United States and Guatemala have embassies in
   Jerusalem.

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