Honduras has inaugurated a trade office with diplomatic status in Jerusalem as the first step of its plan to officially transfer the country’s embassy to the holy city on 1 September.
President of the Central American country Juan Orlando Hernandez stated that opening the trade office is “the recognition that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel” as reported by the Times of Israel.
The Middle East Eye reported that the Palestinian Foreign Ministry stated they would file a formal complaint to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a move it described as “direct aggression towards the Palestinian people and a blatant violation of international law and legitimacy”.
On August 29 the Republic of Nauru also announced its decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem in a letter addressed to Israel’s UN mission in New York stating that “the Mission of Nauru has the honour to convey the decision of the Government of the Republic of Nauru to formally recognise the City of Jerusalem as the Capital City of the State of Israel”.
According to the Middle East Monitor, Israel’s Foreign Ministry has announced the launch of a 14.2
million-dollar plan to encourage countries to transfer their embassies to Jerusalem. The Ministry believes that a number of states would move their representations in exchange for “aid and improving relations with the US”.
In 2017, two weeks before Nauru voted against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning President Trump’s decision on the status of the holy city, the Pacific Island nation had received a $72,000 sewage treatment system from Israel.
Aurora Israel news site reported that Honduras will receive a military ship from Israel to fight against drug trafficking in the Latin American country’s water.
Israel sees all of Jerusalem as its undivided capital, while the Palestinians consider the eastern part of the city as the capital of their future state.
The decisions of Honduras and Nauru follow US resident Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state in December 2017. Since then, the US and Israel have encouraged other countries to adopt similar actions.
So far, only Guatemala and Paraguay have transferred their embassies to Jerusalem although Paraguay, later on, reversed its decision.