IUSY-YES Statement on US decision on opening the embassy in Jerusalem

Today, on the memorial day of the Nakba, the US decision to open the US Embassy in Jerusalem was realized. This act took place under a near-total international rejection and no participation of the great majority of EU countries. It led to an immediate resistance from the Palestinians in East Jerusalem and Palestine in general, stating their opposition to move the US embassy while rejecting the practices of the US administration. In addition, the occupation forces suppressed the peaceful marches by firing live bullets leading to more than 55 dead and hundreds of wounded in Gaza strip, while there is a risk for even greater violence, from both sides. These aggressive reactions indicate the brutality of the Israeli right-wing government and the shameful situation the occupation leads to, in which there is lack of respect to human rights and to the international law and unnecessary use of violence.

As stressed in the past, IUSY opposes this decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, while ignoring the Palestinian right for an independent state. Furthermore, IUSY condemns violence from any side and the use of terror. IUSY supports the two-state solution – Palestine with east Jerusalem its capital, and Israel with west Jerusalem as its capital – as the overriding method to achieve a peace agreement in the region and to put an end to the rising and unjust violence.