ANKARA

Palestine has strongly condemned Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka's decision to open the country's embassy to Israel in Jerusalem, calling it a violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry and the Hamas group issued separate statements late Tuesday, urging the Fijian government to reverse its decision.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the Fijian decision is "an act of aggression against the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights," and it impedes "prospects for peace based on the principle of the two-state solution."

The Palestinian group Hamas said in a statement that the decision is "a blatant assault on the rights of our Palestinian people to their land and a clear violation of international law and UN resolutions, which recognize Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian territory."

On Tuesday, the Fijian Foreign Ministry announced on its official website that the country's Cabinet has approved the establishment of an embassy to Israel in Jerusalem.

If the decision is carried out, Fiji will become the seventh country to have embassies in Jerusalem after the US, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, and Paraguay.