RAMALLAH: The Palestinian foreign ministry on Monday slammed as “shameful” Guatemala’s decision to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem after the United States recognised the city as the capital of Israel. “It’s a shameful and illegal act that goes totally against the wishes of church leaders in Jerusalem” and violates a non-binding UN General Assembly resolution condemning the US move, the ministry said in a statement. Guatemala was among only eight countries to join the United States on Thursday in voting against the resolution. Israelis see the whole of the city as their undivided capital while the Palestinians view the east as the capital of their future state. No country currently has its embassy in Jerusalem, instead keeping them in the Israeli commercial capital Tel Aviv.--AFP

Source: New Strait Times December 25, 2017 16:07 UTC