Guatemala wants to move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem

After the United States, Guatemala is the second country to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, according to Reuters. Indeed, President Jimmy Morales expressed last night his intention to move the Guatemalan Embassy in Tel Aviv to the holy city.

The announcement was made on the night of Sunday to Monday, through the president’s official page on Facebook. The latter said that he «gave instructions to the Minister [of Foreign Affairs, Sandra Jovel] to take the necessary steps». In his post, the president also said that he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, stressing, according to him, the «excellent relations between the two countries».

This announcement is made two days after Netanyahu's statement, saying that other countries could take the same step as the U.S. President Donald Trump. Jimmy Morales' decision also comes less than a month after Trump's decision, who announced on the 6th of December that he intends to transfer the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Guatemala is one of the nine countries to vote Thursday against the UN resolution condemning the decision of the US president. Donald Trump had threatened to «cut aid from countries intending to vote in favor of the UN resolutions». However, Donald Trump’s threats did not stop 128 countries from voting for the UN resolution.

At the end of this vote, Jimmy Morales had justified his choice by the fact that Guatemala was «historically a pro-Israel country». He added that «in seventy years of relations, Israel has been [its] ally». Like Trump, the Guatemalan president made his announcement without setting a deadline for the transfer of his diplomatic representation.