PLO: Jerusalem is “occupied Palestinian territory”, media coverage should reflect that
Headline: "The [PLO Department of] Negotiations calls on the international press not to participate in distorting facts"
"The PLO Department of Negotiations warned against the attempts of the top Israeli officials to distort the facts by exploiting the international media coverage in order to normalize the severe violations of international law…
The Department of Negotiations emphasized in a statement to the international media in the context of the upcoming Israeli elections that exploiting the Old City of occupied Jerusalem as a façade or background for interviews with Israeli guests during media coverage is deliberate misleading of the viewers, intended to leave an impression that the Old City is part of Israel.
In the statement it was said: 'This is exactly what we saw in the previous Israeli elections at the beginning of 2015 in many media outlets. Despite all of Jerusalem being a subject for final status negotiations, Jerusalem and the Old City are actually occupied Palestinian territory according to [UN] Security Council Resolution 2334 (see note below –Ed.)… and any illegal recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is a direct violation of Security Council Resolution 478 (see note below –Ed.).'
[The statement] called on the international media associations not to participate in the legitimization of the illegal Israeli annexation of occupied East Jerusalem.
And [the statement] added: 'The administration of [US President Donald] Trump has pushed to normalize Israel's violations, including the omission of the word 'occupation' from its official documents even though Israel’s occupation of Palestine has still not ended, and Israel is still an occupying authority in all of the territories that it occupied in 1967, both in the Syrian Golan Heights and in occupied Palestine. Therefore, referring to one of these areas – including East Jerusalem – as if it is 'Israel' or 'disputed' means turning the settlement into a fact on the ground…'
[The statement] added: 'We understand that the media coverage does not relate to Jaffa, Nazareth, or Haifa as 'disputed territory,' but we expect the clauses of international law regarding occupied Palestinian territory to be honored.'"
UN Resolution 2334 condemned the establishment of Israeli "settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem," saying it "has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace." It demanded that Israel “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities” in the area. The resolution further said “it will not recognize any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines” other than changes made through negotiations, in reference to the 1949-1967 ceasefire line between Israel and the neighboring Arab countries following Israel's 1948 War of Independence. The resolution called “upon all States… to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967.” It also called "to prevent all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror, as well as acts of provocation and destruction... and to clearly condemn all acts of terrorism," and noted the obligation of "the Palestinian Authority Security Forces to maintain effective operations aimed at confronting all those engaged in terror and dismantling terrorist capabilities." The resolution was adopted during US President Barack Obama’s final weeks in office and reflected a change in the longstanding US policy of averting UN Security Council resolutions that prejudice or negatively influence direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
UN Security Council Resolution 478 of Aug. 20, 1980, “censured” the Israeli law defining united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and called on all states to withdraw their diplomatic missions from Jerusalem.