The Palestinian Authority (PA), which controls the occupied West Bank and represents Palestinians on the international stage, has condemned Colombia's decision to open an embassy in the west of the Israeli-occupied city of al-Quds (Jerusalem).

The PA Foreign Ministry said in a Wednesday statement that Colombia's opening of the embassy in al-Quds was in line with the Israeli regime's efforts to change the legal and historical status of al-Quds, which it dismissed as "null and void and having no legal effect”.

The statement said the decision is "a flagrant violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions, and an assault on the Palestinian people and their just and legitimate national rights”.

Colombia opened its embassy in occupied al-Quds earlier on Wednesday, months after a new government in Bogota decided to restore diplomatic relations with Israel that had been severed under a previous Colombian government.

The move comes amid efforts by the Israeli regime to enact a law that allows the annexation of the area in al-Quds known internationally as East Jerusalem.

That comes as the PA wants East al-Quds as the capital of a future Palestinian state. The Israeli regime, which has occupied the area since 1967, claims the entire city of al-Quds as the capital of its occupation establishment.

The PA Foreign Ministry statement said that Colombia’s launch of the embassy in al-Quds is a boost to Israel's "colonial policies and attempts to impose illegal realities on the ground," as it insisted that the move also "undermines the international consensus on the city's legal status and infringes on the Palestinian people's inalienable rights."

It called on Colombia to reverse the measure "to preserve prospects for achieving a just and comprehensive peace" in Palestine while urging Bogota to comply with international law and respect relevant UN resolutions.