Guatemala and Paraguay have become the second and third countries respectively to relocate their embassies to Jerusalem, following the United States’s move last week.
The Guatemalan Embassy was opened on 16th May, followed by the opening of the Paraguayan Embassy on 21st May. Both inaugurations were held in Jerusalem’s Malcha Technology Park, and attended by their heads of state, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and President of Israel Reuven Rivlin.
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales was welcomed with a personal message of thanks projected along the walls of the Old City alongside the Guatemalan, American and Israeli flags. The embassy had originally been located in Jerusalem but moved to Tel Aviv in 1980.
The Paraguayan embassy moved to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv where it had been located since 2013, following a move from the Jerusalem suburb of Mevasseret Zion due to budgetary reasons.
Paraguayan President Horatio Manuel Cartes Jara spoke warmly of the relationship between Paraguay and Israel during the opening ceremony for his country’s new embassy on Monday.
He said: “This occasion is of special significance because it expresses the sincere friendship and brave solidarity between Paraguay and Israel… From the depth of my heart, I appreciate this country that courageously defends its right to live in peace and it is building a praiseworthy economically prosperous state that ensures its future and that of its children”.
Honduras is reportedly the next country planning to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem.
The new US Embassy was formally opened in Jerusalem last Monday, amid the deadliest clashes along the Israel-Gaza border since the 2014 Gaza conflict.
In a statement, No 10 said the UK’s position has not changed, and that it currently has no plans to move its Embassy from Tel Aviv.
