MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Hamas wants Paraguayan Embassy out of Jerusalem

Peña underlined that Israel was Paraguay's “sister nation”

The terrorist organization Hamas Friday demanded Paraguay once again relocate the Embassy in Jerusalem to Tel Aviv after Thursday's reopening. “We call on the Paraguayan government to reverse this decision, and to side with the values of humanity, justice, and legality, and support our oppressed people,” the Islamist group said. Hamas also considers the embassy move a “violation” of the right of Palestinians to their land and a violation of UN resolutions recognizing East Jerusalem as Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the decision of the president of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, to relocate the Embassy of his country in the criminal Zionist entity to occupied Jerusalem,” Hamas went on in a statement.

Thursday's ceremony was attended by Paraguayan President Santiago Peña as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the foreign ministers of both countries, among other high-ranking officials. Paraguay had already moved the diplomatic mission in 2018 under President Horacio Cartes but that decision was later reversed during Mario Abdo Benítez's term to allegedly maintain neutrality in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Israel considers Jerusalem (including its eastern part, occupied in 1967 and unilaterally annexed in 1980) as its sole and indivisible capital, contrary to the vast majority of the international community, which maintains its diplomatic representation in Tel Aviv.

Only the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, and Paraguay. Argentine President Javier Milei has also announced his intentions to follow suit.

Peña underlined that the Embassy's relocation was “a historic day” for Paraguay, “reaffirming the ties of friendship and cooperation” with Israel, which he described as a “sister nation” while Netanyahu insisted Jerusalem was his country's “eternal capital.”

The Palestinian Authority's Foreign Ministry also pointed out that the opening of the new diplomatic mission constituted ”a violation of international law, United Nations resolutions, and the position of the International Court of Justice (ICJ),“ which placed Paraguay ”on the wrong side of history.”