Barely a few weeks after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, Guatemala became the first nation to follow his lead, announcing on Christmas Eve that it would move its embassy there as well.
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Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales posted to Facebook on Sunday that he had just spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and instructed Guatemala’s foreign ministry to “initiate the process to make it possible.”
“Today I spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” Morales said on Facebook.
“We spoke about the great relationships we have had as nations since Guatemala supported the creation of the State of Israel. One of the most relevant topics was the return of the Embassy of Guatemala to Jerusalem.”
“I inform you that I have given instructions to the Chancellor [Foreign Minister] to initiate the process to make it possible. God bless you.”
Last week, Netanyahu had told newsmen that “several countries” were considering moving their embassies to Jerusalem in the wake of Trump’s decision.
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Guatemala was one of the countries that did not vote with the United Nations when it declared in a non-binding resolution that Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was “null and void.”
Nine countries voted “no”: Honduras, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Togo, Guatemala, the U.S. and Israel.
In addition, 35 countries abstained from the vote and 21 were “absent.” In all, 128 countries supported the measure.