Paraguay reopens its embassy in Jerusalem as Pena visits Israel

The small South American nation of Paraguay has reopened its embassy in Jerusalem, becoming the latest of just a small handful of countries to recognise the bitterly contested city as Israel's capital.

Paraguay first relocated its embassy to Jerusalem in 2018 under the pro-Israel government of then-President Horacio Cartes but reversed its decision months later when a new administration came to power.

The decision of President Santiago Pena, a protege of Cartes who has followed in his mentor's footsteps, to reopen the Jerusalem embassy makes Paraguay the first country to make the move since the start of Israel's brutal war on Gaza in October last year.

Israel annexed East Jerusalem, home to the Old City, with holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in 1967 in a move that was not recognised by the international community. Most countries run their embassies out of Tel Aviv.

Reversed decision

Pena arrived in Israel early on Wednesday on the eve of his embassy relocation, a move that Israel's Netanyahu hailed as "courageous".

The Israeli Knesset (parliament) held a welcoming session for the Paraguayan president, who also met with his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog.

In a written statement, Herzog’s office praised the opening of the Paraguayan embassy in Jerusalem as "historic."

The US moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in mid-2018, in a move that invited widespread international condemnation. Guatemala, Kosovo, and Honduras followed the US move, but the vast majority of countries refused to relocate their embassies to Jerusalem.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Palestine-Israel conflict, with Palestinians hoping East Jerusalem, now occupied by Israel, might eventually serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.