Foreign Ministry Reaction to Husseini Statement on Jerusalem

(Communicated by Foreign Ministry Spokesman)
March 2, 2000

The Israeli Foreign Ministry expressed dismay over the statement to the media made by Feisal Husseini, that meetings between foreign visitors and Palestinian representatives will take now place in the "Orient House" or other locations in eastern Jerusalem. In the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, the PLO obligated itself to not establish Palestinian Authority (PA) offices in areas in which the PA has no authority, and to refrain from any activity in the realm of foreign affairs, including diplomatic activity.

Jerusalem, in its entirety, is not within the area of PA authority.

Consequently, this recent statement constitutes a flagrant violation of the legal obligations that the PLO has taken upon itself to fulfill.

Israel expects that the PLO will fully respect the agreements upon which it has signed, and that foreign states will not lend their support to violations of this nature.