Correcting an historic error

Aug.17 2006


Correcting an historic error

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias' announcement that his country wll move its embassy in Israel from occupied Jerusalem to Tel Aviv is higly welcomed not only because it corrects a major mistake in Costa Rica's foreign policy but also because it comes a very sensitive time in the Middle East.
We have witnessed efforts by every US administrations, particularly since 1967 when Israel occupied Arab East Jerusalem and, in 1980, proclaimed it the Jewish state's "indivisible and eternal capital," to persuade world countries to move their embassies to the occupied city. But the number of takers was limited because the international community was not willing to recognise Israel's claim.
UN Security Council Resolution 478 ruled that the 1980 Israeli declaration was "null and void and must be rescinded forthwith"' and instructed member states to withdraw their diplomatic representation from the city as a punitive measure. Most of the few countries with embassies in occupied relocated their embassies to Tel Aviv. Most UN member states has set up their embassies in Tel Aviv prior to Resolution 478.
The Costa Rican move leaves El Salvador as the only country with has an embassy in occupied Jerusalem (The embassies of Bolivia and Paraguay are located in Mevasseret Zion, a suburb of the occupied city).
Officially, not even the US, which maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv, has been able to recognise Israel's claim to the whole of Jerusalem but not because it has not tried. The US has even identified a plot in western Jerusalem to house a US embassy, but Washington could not actually make the move because of various reasons that cropped up whenever the thought was given consideration.
There have been several motions in the US Congress recommending the move. One of the last proclamations of the Clinton administration was a pledge to move the US embassy in Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem.
Had there been the slightest chance it could get away with it, the US would have made the move. But, it is not that easy, given the religious and emotional attachment that the Muslims and Christians have with the Holy City. Washington had always to seriously consider the repercussions if it were to lead the world into recognising Israel's unilteral claim.
The Costa Rican move is a blow to the Israeli government. The decision has been announced at a time when Israel is reeling back from the setback it suffered in Lebanon. It could have done without the issue of occupied Jerusalem be brought up for international attention at this point in time.
Indeed, as Arias, a Nobel laureate put it, Costa Rica is rectifyting "an historic error that hurts us internationally and deprives us of almost any form of friendship with the Arab world, and more broadly with Islamic civilisation, to which a sixth of humanity belongs."
Yes, it is indeed correcting a historic error and it also boosts the Arab and Muslim morale in the continuing and uncompromising struggle to regain the Holy City, which houses the third holiest shrine in Islam.