Image courtesy of The Times of Israel.
Joel Kontinen
As the peace treaty with Israel and United Arab Emirates is in
force, Israel will get new neighbours, Kosovo and Serbia will move their
embassies to Jerusalem.
Kosovo intends to establish diplomatic ties with
Israel and will, in addition to Serbia, open an
embassy in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the historic
development, which was made public by US President Donald Trump during a
meeting at the White House that also focused on the establishment of official
economic relations between Pristina and Belgrade.
“Kosovo will be the first Muslim-majority country to
open an embassy in Jerusalem. As I said during the last days, the circle
of peace and recognition of Israel is expanding with more countries expected to
join,” Netanyahu asserted.
For his part, Kosovan President
Hashim Thaci tweeted:
I welcome the
announcement of Israeli PM @netanyahu about the genuine intention to
recognize #Kosovo and establish diplomatic
relations. Kosovo will keep its promise to place its diplomatic mission in #Jerusalem
To date, only the US and Guatemala
have relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem their primary missions in Israel. The
Trump Administration recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017
and moved the US embassy to the holy city the following May.
Meanwhile,
Malawi’s new leader, President Lazarus Chakwera, on Saturday also revealed
plans to open
a diplomatic office in Jerusalem. Chakwera has long been supportive
of the Jewish state, which he visited last year. If he follows through on his
promise, Malawi would become the first African country to establish an
embassy in Jerusalem.
Source:
Honest Reporting Staff. 2020. Israel Expands Circle of Friends as COVID-19 Takes its Tol. Honest Reporting 6 September.
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