Guatemala's president announced
on Christmas Eve that the Central American country will move its embassy
in Israel to Jerusalem, becoming the first nation to follow the lead of
U.S. President Donald Trump in ordering the change.
Guatemala was one of nine nations that voted with the
United States and Israel on Thursday when the U.N. General Assembly
overwhelmingly adopted a non-binding resolution denouncing Trump's
recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Trump didn't set any timetable for moving the U.S.
Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and neither did Guatemalan President
Jimmy Morales.
In a post on his official Facebook account Sunday,
Morales said that after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, he decided to instruct Guatemala's foreign ministry to move
the embassy.
Guatemala and Israel have long had close ties, especially in security matters and Israeli arms sales to Guatemala.
No other country has their embassy for Israel in Jerusalem, though the Czech Republic has said it is considering such a move.
Trump upended decades of U.S. policy with his Dec. 6
announcement that he was recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Though Trump said he was merely recognizing reality and not prejudging
negotiations on the future borders of the city, Palestinians saw the
move as siding with Israel on the most sensitive issue in the
Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, while
the Palestinians claim the city's eastern sector, which was captured by
Israel in 1967 and is home to sensitive religious Jewish, Muslim and
Christian sites. Many governments have long said that the fate of
Jerusalem must be resolved through negotiations.
Trump's announcement has set off weeks of clashes
between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces that have
left 12 Palestinians dead.
Netanyahu has predicted others would follow the U.S.
led. He 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 stayed away from the vote.
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