Another ‘great day in Israel’ as Paraguay opens embassy in Jerusalem, copying US move
The tiny South American country is the second to follow Washington’s lead and transfer its mission to the holy city from Tel Aviv
Paraguay opened its Israel embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, the second country to follow the United States in making the politically sensitive move from Tel Aviv.
Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the inauguration ceremony. The United States moved its embassy to Jerusalem a week ago, drawing mass protests from Palestinians and sparking a brutal and bloody crackdown by the Israeli army. Both Israel and the US were slammed by the international community for bloodshed, as dozens of protesters were killed and hundreds injured – many of them women and children.
Guatemala moved its embassy to Jerusalem two days later.
The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest obstacles to forging a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, who with broad international backing want East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, as their capital.
Israel regards the whole of the city, including the eastern sector it annexed after the 1967 conflict, as its capital.
“This is a historic day that strengthens ties between Paraguay and Israel,” Cartes said at the ceremony.