Israel in touch with '10 countries' over embassy moves: deputy minister

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Europe

Israel is in touch with "at least 10 countries" over the possible transfer of their embassies to Jerusalem after the United States recognized the city as Israel's capital, a deputy minister said Monday.

"We are in contact with at least 10 countries, some of them in Europe" to discuss the move, deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely told public radio.

She spoke a day after Guatemala said it would move its embassy to the city, a move slammed by Palestinian officials as "shameful."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Guatemala's President Jimmy Morales on Monday for deciding to move his country's embassy to Jerusalem.

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands as they deliver statements to the media during their meeting in Jerusalem, November 29, 2016. /Reuters Photo

"God bless you, my friend, President Jimmy Morales, God bless both our countries, Israel and Guatemala," Netanyahu said in a weekly meeting with his Likud party.

Netanyahu said that during their telephone conversation, he told Morales that other countries are expected to follow the US and recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announce the transfer of their embassies to the city. "Well, here is the second country and I reiterate: It is only the beginning and it is important," Netanyahu said.

Hotovely also said US President Donald Trump's statement would "trigger a wave" of such moves.

"So far we have only seen the beginning," she said.

Hotovely did not name the countries in question, but public radio cited Israeli diplomatic sources as saying Honduras, the Philippines, Romania and South Sudan are among states considering such a move.

A rare emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly held at the UN headquarters in New York, US, December 21, 2017. /Xinhua Photo

Two-thirds of United Nations member states last week voted for a resolution rejecting Trump's controversial move, reaffirming that the status of Jerusalem must be resolved through negotiations.

Guatemala voted against the resolution together with the US, Honduras, and the Pacific island states of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Palau.

No country currently has its embassy in Jerusalem, instead keeping them in the Israeli commercial capital Tel Aviv.

Source(s): AFP ,Xinhua News Agency