(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS) Israel is in talks with more than 10 countries that are currently considering following in the footsteps of the U.S. by announcing plans to relocate their embassies to Jerusalem, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said Monday.
Speaking to Israel Radio three weeks after President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and vowed to move the American embassy to that city, Hotovely remarked that “there are countries on all the continents” that have expressed interest in doing the same.
On Sunday, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales announced his decision to relocate the Central American country’s embassy to Jerusalem.
“I can only say that there are more than 10 countries,” Hotovely told Israel Radio, declining to identify the specific nations that are communicating with the Jewish state on potential embassy moves. “We, at the Foreign Ministry, are working intelligently with each one. Every country has a different background.”
The deputy minister noted that the head of Romania’s governing Social Democratic Party, Liviu Nicolae Dragnea, recently called for the European country to transfer its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Further, Honduras and Panama informed the Palestinian Authority that they plan to relocate their embassies to Jerusalem, Palestinian media outlets reported Tuesday.
“Trump’s announcement will generate momentum,” Hotovely said. “Right now we are seeing the first harbingers, but there is no doubt that there is a strong current here and that this is a historic diplomatic achievement in the making.”