Netanyahu speaks with Paraguay’s president-elect, who’s vowed to return embassy to Jerusalem

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with Paraguay’s President-elect Santiago Pena, who has pledged to move his country’s embassy back to Jerusalem.

According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, he and Pena expressed their commitment to strengthening bilateral ties and agreed to meet soon to discuss economic cooperation. Netanyahu also praised Pena for his comments on the embassy.

“The State of Israel recognizes Jerusalem as its capital. The seat of the Congress is in Jerusalem, the president is in Jerusalem. So who are we to question where they establish their own capital?” Pena told AFP before the election in late April.

Following the US and Guatemala, Paraguay became the third country to have an embassy in Jerusalem when president Horacio Cortes moved the mission in 2018. However, the move was reversed months later when incumbent President Mario Abdo Benítez took office, raising the ire of Israel.

Since then, Kosovo and Honduras have opened embassies in Jerusalem.