France, Russia disapprove US embassy move, call on Israel to show restraint

France and Russia on Monday expressed their disapproval of the United States’ embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, citing violations to international law.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – France and Russia on Monday expressed their disapproval of the United States’ embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, citing violations to international law.

France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian urged Israeli authorities to show restraint following the killing of over 40 Palestinian demonstrators on the Gaza-Israel border.

“France calls on all actors to show responsibility to prevent a new escalation,” Le Drian said in a statement. “France again calls on the Israeli authorities to exercise discernment and restraint in the use of force that must be strictly proportionate.”

The French Foreign Minister also described the US decision to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem as a violation of “international law and in particular UN Security Council resolutions.”

President Donald Trump announced on Dec. 6 that America would move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, officially recognizing it as Israel’s capital in the process.

Trump’s decision received backlash from many countries who argued it would increase tensions between Israelis and Palestinians who have been locked in decades of war and disagreement, particularly regarding the status of the city.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also commented on the US move in a press conference on Monday, noting that Russia had expressed its “negative view of the decision” many times.

“We are confident that agreements enshrined in the global community’s decisions should be unilaterally revised in such a way,” Lavrov said.

The United Nations, meanwhile, voiced its “grave concerns” over the Israeli military’s use of live fire against Palestinian protestors.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination called for an “impartial, independent investigation” into Israeli Defense Forces’ violence which has left dozens of Palestinians killed.