Guatemala plans to move Israel embassy to Jerusalem

By Kubra Chohan

ANKARA

After a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales on Sunday announced that Guatemala will "return" their Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

"We talked about the excellent relations [with Netanyahu] that we have had as nations since Guatemala supported the creation of the state of Israel," Morales said on a Facebook post.

"One of the most important topics was the return of the embassy of Guatemala to Jerusalem," he said. "I have instructed the chancellor to initiate the respective coordination so that it may be".

Morales did not give information on when the move will happen.

The move backs U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision on Dec. 6 to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate Washington’s embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested city.

The UN's 193-member General Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution on Jerusalem by an overwhelming majority, calling on the U.S. to withdraw its recognition of the city as Israel's capital.

A total of 128 members voted in favor of the Jerusalem resolution, nine countries -- Guatemala one of them -- voted against and 35 others abstained. Twenty-one countries did not cast a vote.