The Legal Department of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) affirmed that the agreement signed between Israel and the United States granting a plot of land in East Jerusalem for the construction of the permanent headquarters of the U.S. Embassy has no legal effect whatsoever, as the land is privately owned by Palestinian citizens. It stressed that the United States› recognition of Jerusalem as Israel›s capital does not alter the legal status of the land nor affect the rights of its lawful Palestinian owners.
The Department stated that East Jerusalem is occupied Palestinian territory under international law and relevant international resolutions, and that the status of occupation does not confer sovereignty upon Israel over the city. Consequently, Israel does not possess sovereign authority that would entitle it to dispose of Jerusalem›s land by selling, transferring, or granting it to any other state. This is a well-established principle of international law reaffirmed by the United Nations Security Council, particularly in Resolutions 476 and 478 (1980), which declared that «all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel to alter the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem are null and void and must be rescinded forthwith.»
The Legal Department considered this move to be a continuation of a historic colonial pattern that recalls the events of 1917, when the principles of international law were disregarded and the Palestinian people›s right to self-determination was denied through the issuance of the Balfour Declaration by the British Mandatory authorities, granting the Zionist movement rights over land that Britain did not own for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people. According to the Department, a similar scenario is unfolding today through Israel›s confiscation of privately owned Palestinian land and its transfer to another state for the construction of a diplomatic mission.
The Department further noted that the United Nations has repeatedly affirmed, through numerous resolutions, that any measures aimed at altering the legal, demographic, or historical status of Jerusalem are illegal and lack international recognition. It also referred to Article 46 of the Regulations annexed to the 1907 Hague Convention IV, one of the fundamental pillars of international humanitarian law, which explicitly requires respect for private property and prohibits its confiscation by an occupying power. Likewise, the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 prohibits the occupying power from using or disposing of occupied territory in a manner that serves its own interests or those of any third party, a principle directly applicable to the situation in East Jerusalem.
The Legal Department added that this step reflects Israel›s continued policy of imposing facts on the ground in the occupied Palestinian territory in an attempt to create legal and political realities that override the will of the Palestinian people and undermine their inalienable right to self-determination and sovereignty over their land. It described the move as a blatant challenge to international resolutions affirming the illegality of any measures intended to alter the legal status of the occupied Palestinian territory or infringe upon the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
The Legal Department of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine concluded by calling upon international courts, United Nations institutions, and governments around the world to condemn this step, describing it as a manifestation of contempt for international law and international legitimacy. It argued that the international community›s continued failure to respond effectively to Israel›s ongoing violations has only encouraged Israel to persist in defying the rules of international law. The Department stressed that the time has come for the international community to adopt effective deterrent and punitive measures to end Israel›s policy of impunity and arrogance, uphold international law, and protect the rights of the Palestinian people