Eli Cohen, the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, declared on Wednesday that Paraguay's new president, Santiago Pena, will reopen the country's embassy in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.
Israel will also reopen its embassy in Asunción, the capital city of Paraguay, apparently putting an end to a rupture between the two countries that began five years ago.
If the new Paraguay leader follows through, Paraguay will be the fifth country to open an embassy in the Israeli capital, joining Kosovo, Honduras, Guatemala, and the United States. Israel sees these actions as reinforcing its claim to the Jerusalem city as its capital, despite the fact that most foreign embassies are located in or near Tel Aviv, a city on Israel’s Mediterranean coast.
The Israeli foreign minister announced this news after a brief meeting with Pena following his inauguration ceremony on Tuesday. Cohen said that he invited Pena to visit Israel within a year to dedicate the new mission and open the embassy.
In 2018, Horacio Cartes, the former president of Paraguay, declared that his nation would establish an embassy in Jerusalem, after similar actions were taken by the United States and Guatemala.
Abdo Benitez, Cartes' successor who served as the president of Paraguay from 2018 to 2023, relocated the embassy to Tel Aviv after only five months, claiming that he was not involved in the original decision. Reportedly, he wanted to maintain a more impartial stance toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After this move, the ties between Israel and Paraguay were affected.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, slammed Paraguay over the decision. He closed Israel’s embassy in Asunción in retaliation.
During the presidential campaign, Santiago Pena, who was elected as the President of Paraguay following the 2023 general election, pledged to reopen Paraguay’s embassy in Jerusalem. He took the presidential oath on Tuesday.
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