March 2, 2000
Communicated by the Israel Foreign Ministry spokesman
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 areas 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.
