Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez has called Jerusalem Israel’s capital, saying the Central American country would open a trade office there, but he stopped short of announcing plans to move his embassy from Tel Aviv.
Mr Hernandez announced the decision at the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington where Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila promised her country would move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, breaking with both the European position and her own country’s President.
“Today I have announced the first step, which is to open a trade office in Jerusalem, the capital of the state of Israel, and this will be an extension of our embassy in Tel Aviv,” he said. “I’ve said that a second step will draw a lot of attacks from the enemies of Israel and the United States, but we will continue along this path.”
The stance by Mr Hernandez and Ms Dancila aligns with the US position under Donald Trump, and it came on a day when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was beginning a Washington visit to include an AIPAC appearance and a meeting with the US President.
Ms Dancila’s move marked a break with the position of Brussels at a time when Bucharest holds the EU’s rotating chairmanship. Adding to the uncertainty, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has opposed the move as a breach of international law. Such a shift would require presidential approval.
Read the article in The Australian (Reuters, AFP).