Israel lauds 'bold' Guatemalan decision to move embassy to Jerusalem - News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

by News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff 

On Facebook, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales says after talking with PM Netanyahu, he has decided to relocate embassy to Jerusalem

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales addresses the U.N. 

General Assembly in September  

Photo: AP

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales drew praise from Israeli officials on Monday after announcing that he had decided to relocate the Central American country's embassy to Jerusalem.

In a short post on his official Facebook account on Sunday, Morales said he had decided to move the embassy from Tel Aviv after talking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Morales' move is in step with the U.S. administration, which recently officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and declared its intention to relocate its own embassy there.

President Donald Trump's Dec. 6 announcement recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel broke with decades of U.S. policy and angered the Palestinians and many in the Arab world, who envision east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

On Thursday, 128 countries defied Trump by backing a non-binding U.N. General Assembly resolution calling on the United States to drop its recognition of Jerusalem.

Guatemala and neighboring Honduras were two of only a handful of countries to join Israel and the United States in voting against the U.N. resolution. The United States is an important source of assistance to Guatemala and Honduras, and Trump had threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that supported the U.N. resolution.

Guatemala and Israel have long had close ties, especially in security matters and Israeli arms sales to Guatemala.

No other country has an embassy in Jerusalem, though the Czech Republic has said it is considering such a move.

Israeli Ambassador to Guatemala Mattanya Cohen said on Army Radio Monday that no date had been set for the embassy move, but it would happen after the United States relocates its own embassy to Jerusalem. U.S. officials have said that move could take at least two years.

"I congratulate my friend [Morales] on his bold decision to move his country's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem," Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein tweeted Monday. "Your decision proves that you and your country are true friends of Israel."

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked posted on Twitter, thanking Morales for what she described as "his courageous decision." She said she was confident other countries would follow.

Netanyahu, who predicted others would follow the U.S. lead after Trump's Jerusalem announcement, has made great efforts to reach out to Latin America in recent years as part of a campaign to counter longstanding support for the Palestinians at the United Nations.

The resolution passed by the General Assembly declared the U.S. action on Jerusalem "null and void." The 128-9 vote was a victory for Palestinians, but fell short of the total they had predicted. Thirty-five nations abstained and 21 were not present.

Morales, a former television comedian with an important base of conservative Christian support, earlier this year became embroiled in a bitter spat with the United Nations when a U.N.-backed anti-corruption organization, the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, tried to impeach him.

Although Morales avoided impeachment, he failed in an attempt to expel the head of the organization from Guataemala, after criticism from the United Nations, the United States and the European Union.

News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2017/12/25/israel-lauds-bold-guatemalan-decision-to-move-embassy-to-jerusalem/

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