Abbas urges Latin America not to follow US embassy
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged Latin American countries not to follow the controversial US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem.
The US is pushing ahead with plans to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv on May 14.It is a move that has sparked major protests by Palestinians, who consider East Jerusalem the capital of their future state.
However ,the leaders of Palestinian thanked ally Maduro for rejecting Washington’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate its embassy, reversing decades of US policy in the region.
Guatemala has already announced it will relocate its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, two days after the United States shifts its mission. And Israel on Monday said Paraguay will be next, doing so later this month.
Foreign embassies are currently located in Tel Aviv and its environs, as the international community has balked at recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, until the status of the city is set via a peace deal with the Palestinians.
On December 6, US President Donald Trump announced that the US would move its embassy to Jerusalem. Israel has expressed hopes that other countries will follow suit, though the move was widely condemned in the international community.
The US will open its embassy in its current consulate in the capital’s Arnona neighborhood on May 14. A large US delegation, headed by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, is expected to attend the event.
