PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia has expressed its utmost concern over the United States’ announcement that it would expedite the opening of its new embassy in Jerusalem by May this year.
In a statement, Wisma Putra said the move will further undermine and jeopardise all efforts geared towards finding a comprehensive and lasting solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
"Malaysia wishes to reiterate its firm position that a two-state solution, in which the Palestinians and the Israelis living side by side in peace, based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, is the only viable solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," it said.
It said Malaysia will continue to work closely with all partners in finding a just and lasting solution to the conflict.
In a statement on Feb 23, the US Department of State had announced that a new American embassy in Jerusalem will open in May.
The opening of the mission will coincide with Israel's 70th anniversary.
Last December, US president Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the embassy from Tel Aviv, where all other embassies are located, drew widespread protests around the world, including in Malaysia.
Malaysia was among the 128 countries which voted in a non-binding resolution calling on the US to drop its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital at the United Nations General Assembly in December last year.