Palestine asserted in an application [text, PDF] submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday that the recent relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem constitutes a breach of international diplomatic law.

In support of its claim, Palestine directed the ICJ to multiple UN General Assembly and Security Council Resolutions affirming the special international regime that applies to Jerusalem and calling on member states to refrain from recognizing Jerusalem as Israeli territory. Palestine argued that the establishment of an embassy to Israel in Jerusalem is contrary to provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations [text, PDF] governing diplomatic activities “in the receiving state.”

US President Donald Trump announced [statement] in December that he would allow the Jerusalem Embassy Act [text, PDF] to take effect for the first time since its passage in 1995. Trump criticized his predecessors for blocking implementation of the law and instructed State Department officials to begin the process of transferring the US Embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The new embassy opened [press statement] on May 14, 2018, the 70th anniversary of the Israeli Declaration of Independence [text].

In the application submitted Friday, Palestine asked the ICJ to declare the US in breach of the Vienna Convention and to order the withdrawal of the American embassy from Jerusalem.