diff --git a/bundles/org.eclipse.jface/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF b/bundles/org.eclipse.jface/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
index 47bd323cd19..c0a6a166d28 100644
--- a/bundles/org.eclipse.jface/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
+++ b/bundles/org.eclipse.jface/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ Manifest-Version: 1.0
 Bundle-ManifestVersion: 2
 Bundle-Name: %pluginName
 Bundle-SymbolicName: org.eclipse.jface;singleton:=true
-Bundle-Version: 3.35.200.qualifier
+Bundle-Version: 3.36.0.qualifier
 Bundle-Vendor: %providerName
 Bundle-Localization: plugin
 Export-Package: org.eclipse.jface,
diff --git a/bundles/org.eclipse.jface/src/org/eclipse/jface/resource/ImageDescriptor.java b/bundles/org.eclipse.jface/src/org/eclipse/jface/resource/ImageDescriptor.java
index 1a529975466..23071678e1f 100644
--- a/bundles/org.eclipse.jface/src/org/eclipse/jface/resource/ImageDescriptor.java
+++ b/bundles/org.eclipse.jface/src/org/eclipse/jface/resource/ImageDescriptor.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*******************************************************************************
- * Copyright (c) 2000, 2023 IBM Corporation and others.
+ * Copyright (c) 2000, 2024 IBM Corporation and others.
  *
  * This program and the accompanying materials
  * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License 2.0
@@ -205,25 +205,47 @@ public static ImageDescriptor createFromURLSupplier(boolean useMissingImage, Sup
 	}
 
 	/**
-	 * Convenient method to create an ImageDescriptor from an URI
+	 * Convenient method to create an ImageDescriptor from an URI.
 	 *
-	 * Delegates to ImageDescriptor createFromURL
+	 * Delegates to {@link ImageDescriptor#createFromURL(URL)}. <em>Important</em>
+	 * This method should only be used when it's guaranteed that the given
+	 * {@link URI} is also a valid {@link URL}, in order to avoid the
+	 * {@link MalformedURLException} thrown by {@link URI#toURL()}.
+	 *
+	 * If the URI is {@code null} or not a valid {@link URL}, then an image from
+	 * {@link #getMissingImageDescriptor()} will be returned.
 	 *
 	 * @param uriIconPath The URI of the image file.
 	 * @return a new image descriptor
 	 *
-	 * @since 3.19
+	 * @since 3.36
 	 */
-	public ImageDescriptor imageDescriptorFromURI(URI uriIconPath) {
+	public static ImageDescriptor createFromURI(URI uriIconPath) {
 		try {
-			return ImageDescriptor.createFromURL(new URL(uriIconPath.toString()));
-		} catch (MalformedURLException | NullPointerException e) {
+			return ImageDescriptor.createFromURL(uriIconPath != null ? uriIconPath.toURL() : null);
+		} catch (MalformedURLException e) {
 			// return the missing image placeholder to indicate
 			// the incorrect call without interfering with the user flow
 			return getMissingImageDescriptor();
 		}
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Convenient method to create an ImageDescriptor from an URI
+	 *
+	 * Delegates to ImageDescriptor createFromURL
+	 *
+	 * @param uriIconPath The URI of the image file.
+	 * @return a new image descriptor
+	 *
+	 * @since 3.19
+	 * @deprecated Use {@link #createFromURI(URI)} instead.
+	 */
+	@Deprecated(since = "3.36", forRemoval = true)
+	public ImageDescriptor imageDescriptorFromURI(URI uriIconPath) {
+		return createFromURI(uriIconPath);
+	}
+
 	@Override
 	public Object createResource(Device device) throws DeviceResourceException {
 		Image result = createImage(false, device);