APA's President Issues Statement on US's Jerusalem Decision

APA News Desk

Istanbul, Turkey

7 December 2017

 

APA's President  issued the following statement on 6 December 2017 regarding the position announced by the US Administration the day before to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the US Embassy to Jerusalem.

 

DECLARATION OF THE

ASIAN PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY (APA) 

REGARDING JERUSALEM

6 December 2017

 

The preservation of the sanctity and the historical status of Jerusalem bears great sensitivity for all humanity.

 

Israel's decision to annex Jerusalem and all of its actions and practices in this framework have never been accepted and are legally invalid.

 

The statement made by the US Administration today to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and to move the US embassy to Jerusalem is in violation of the international law and the UN Resolutions, primarily the UN Security Council Resolution no 478. Beyond this, the statement of the US President is both null and void before the conscience and the history.

 

Peace will only come with the existence of an independent, sovereign and contiguous State of Palestine based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, as set out by the UN Resolutions.

 

The immediate ending of the Israeli occupation in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza is at the same time a historical, conscientious and human necessity.

 

By encouraging occupation, this statement leads to unlawfulness and instability in the region and seriously destroys the ground for peace.

 

As the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA), we strongly condemn and reject this illegal statement.

 

We call on the countries which have not yet recognized the Palestinian State, which represents the national will and resolve for freedom of the Palestinian people, to take this step that has become a necessity upon the recent developments.

 

We once again emphasize that as the members of APA, we are standing with the Palestinian people in their just cause.