DUBAI: The Arab Parliament condemned Kosovo’s decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem, which recognized the disputed holy city as the capital of Israel, Jordan’s state agency Petra reported.
The organization urged Kosovo on Tuesday to change their mind about the location of the embassy and to abide by international resolutions on the legal state of the holy city.
Israel and Kosovo established diplomatic ties on Monday, with the Muslim-majority territory recognising Jerusalem as the Jewish state’s capital.
The decision followed Israel’s normalisation of ties with four Arab states under a series of deals brokered by former US president Donald Trump, collectively known as the Abraham Accords, that took place last year.
Unlike Kosovo’s decision to relocate their embassy, those who were part of the Abraham Accords - the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan - have all said their diplomatic missions will remain in Tel Aviv, in line with a global consensus against recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital until the Palestinian conflict is resolved.
In exchange for setting up its mission in Jerusalem, Kosovo gets recognition from Israel, as it seeks to further legitimise its 2008 declaration of independence from its former war foe Serbia.
Due to coronavirus restrictions, officials signed joint declarations separately on Monday in Jerusalem and Pristina.
Kosovo’s top diplomat, Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla, thanked Israel for becoming the 117th country to recognise its independence, joining much of the Western world.
China, Russia and five European Union members have not granted recognition to Kosovo.
“Kosovo has waited for a very long time to establish diplomatic relations with Israel,” Haradinaj-Stublla said.
