Guatemala to move embassy to Jerusalem – BBC

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A view of the Al-Aqsa compound (Temple Mount) in Jerusalem's Old City on July 14, 2017. The rock over which the shrine was built is sacred to both Muslims and Jews and the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in the world in Islam. According to media reports on Dec. 5 2017 state that US President Donald J. Trump has informed Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas that he intends to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. ATEF SAFADI, EPA-EFE A view of the Al-Aqsa compound (Temple Mount) in Jerusalem's

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has ordered the country’s embassy in Israel to be moved to Jerusalem.

In a Facebook post, Mr Morales said the decision was taken after he had spoken with Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

Last week, Guatemala was one of only nine nations to vote against a UN resolution urging America to reverse its recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Donald Trump threatened to cut aid to nations that voted against the US.

The US is an important aid donor to Guatemala, an impoverished Central American country.

On Sunday, Mr Morales said he had instructed the Guatemalan authorities to start “the necessary respective co-ordination” before moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

He also said Guatemala had been a long-standing ally of Israel.

The status of Jerusalem goes to the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel occupied the east of the city, previously occupied by Jordan, in the 1967 Middle East war and regards the entire city as its indivisible capital.

The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state and its final status is meant to be discussed in the latter stages of peace talks.

Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem has never been recognised internationally, and all countries currently maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv. However, President Trump has told the US state department to start work on moving the US embassy.

BBC