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Palestine ready to seek legal action over US decision on Jerusalem, vows envoy

On December 6, 2017, US President Donald Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state and relocate the American embassy there from Tel Aviv

MOSCOW, February 6. /TASS/. The Palestinian government might appeal to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague over the White House’s decision to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told TASS in an exclusive interview ahead of Mahmoud Abbas’ trip to the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.

"We are going to appeal to any organization and any institution," the diplomat asserted when replying to a question about a possible petition by Palestine to the ICC. "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will soon [February 20] address at the UN and will openly touch upon all these issues," the diplomat added.

Earlier, the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) stated its intention to seek legal action in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the General Assembly and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to appeal against Israeli moves and "to start a judicial inquiry into Israeli settlements, racial discrimination and the ongoing ethnic cleansing in and around Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and the area south of Hebron."

On December 6, 2017, US President Donald Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state and relocate the American embassy there from Tel Aviv. The status of Jerusalem remains one of the most volatile issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel occupied the eastern part of the city during the Six-Day War of 1967 and insist that Jerusalem is the "single and indivisible" capital of Israel. The Palestinians, in turn, are pressing to make East Jerusalem their future capital.