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Faizel Patel – 05/11/2020

(Twitter: @FaizelPatel143)

Palestinian special envoy to Malawi Hanan Jarrar has handed a letter from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera reminding him on the status of Jerusalem under international law.

Jarrar arrived in the city of Lilongwe on Wednesday following a decision by Malawi to become the first African country to follow the US’ example and open an embassy to Israel in the disputed city of Jerusalem.

Malawi has had diplomatic ties with the Jewish state since 1964 but without opening an embassy.

Chakwera’s decision follows that of US President Donald Trump, who in December 2017 recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved the US embassy to the city in May this year.

In a statement, Jarrar says any step taken to establish a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem constitutes a violation of relevant United Nations resolutions.

Speaking to Radio Islam, Jarrar says the meeting with Chakwera went well.

“We handed the letter. The president of Malawi reaffirmed the position of Malawi and recognising the state of Palestine under the borders of 1967 and reaffirms the position of the republic of Malawi and supporting the two state solution.”

Jarrar says Chakwera promised to review the contents of the letter from President Mahmoud Abbas.

“He agreed to look and he promised and agreed to look at the letter, discuss it and refer back to the Palestinian side in an official response. We says that it was a good engagement and we have to follow up on this.”

In the statement, Jarrar also reminded Chakwera that under international law, East Jerusalem [including the Old City and its holy sites] are not legally part of Israel.

Jarrar adds that since Israel’s establishment in 1948, the US and the international community have refused to recognize the sovereignty of any country to any part of Jerusalem in the absence of a permanent Arab-Israeli peace agreement.

Listen to the comment by Hanan Jarrar to Radio Islam