Israel and Kosovo have established diplomatic ties, with the Muslim-majority territory recognising Jerusalem as the Jewish state’s capital, putting it at odds with the rest of the Islamic world.
Israel has normalised ties with four Arab states since August under a series of deals brokered by former US president Donald Trump, collectively known as the Abraham Accords.
But the majority-Muslim parties to those accords — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan — have all said their diplomatic missions will be in Tel Aviv, in line with a global consensus against recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital until the Palestinian conflict is resolved.
In exchange for setting up its mission in Jerusalem, Kosovo receives recognition from Israel, as it seeks to further legitimise its 2008 declaration of independence from its former war foe Serbia.
Because of coronavirus restrictions, officials on Tuesday AEDT signed joint declarations separately in Jerusalem and Pristina. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said the ceremony marked “the first time in history that diplomatic relationships are being established over Zoom”.
Kosovo’s top diplomat, Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla, thanked Israel for becoming the 117th country to recognise its independence, joining much of the Western world. China, Russia and five EU members have not granted recognition to Kosovo.
“Kosovo has waited for a very long time to establish diplomatic relations with Israel,” Ms Haradinaj-Stublla said.
Read the article in The Australian (AFP).