Following U.S. lead, Guatemala moves embassy
JERUSALEM — Israel celebrated the opening of Guatemala’s new embassy in Jerusalem on Wednesday as the Palestinians, infuriated by the relocation of the U.S. Embassy to the contested city, recalled their ambassadors to four European countries that had supported the move.
Israel has been buoyed by the new Jerusalem missions, which have infuriated the Palestinians. The opening of the U.S. Embassy on Monday was met with mass protests on the Gaza border, where Israeli troops killed nearly 60 Palestinians, triggering a wave of international condemnation.
The Palestinians, who seek East Jerusalem as capital of their hoped-for state, vehemently oppose the U.S. Embassy’s relocation from Tel Aviv, seeing it as a one-sided move that invalidates the U.S. as a Mideast peace broker.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said ambassadors to Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria were being called home for consultations after those countries sent envoys to a celebratory event held by Israel’s Foreign Ministry ahead of the U.S Embassy opening.
The European Union objected to the embassy move, but the four European countries broke with EU policy to attend the celebration.
“We highly value our relations with all EU member states. Those relations are based on the commitment to international law, U.N. resolutions and human rights. Therefore we consider the participation in this event a contradiction to such values,” said Amal Jadou, a Palestinian Foreign Ministry official.
Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it in a move not recognized internationally. Israel considers Jerusalem its undivided capital, but nearly all countries have opted to maintain embassies in Tel Aviv because of the holy city’s contested status.
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales dedicated the embassy just two days after a high-powered American delegation marked the transfer of the U.S. Embassy.
Netanyahu said it was fitting, noting that Guatemala also followed the U.S. to be the second country to recognize Israel 70 years ago.
“You were always among the first,” he said at the ceremony.
At Wednesday’s ceremony, Morales said his country was bringing a message of “love, peace and fraternity” to Israel. The Guatemalan Congress recently passed a law marking May 14 as “Israel-Guatemala Friendship Day.”