Following the US, Brazil orders embassy move to Jerusalem

Brazilian President Bolsanaro, left, and Israeli Prime Minister. Photo: AFP.

"The decision has been made, it's just a matter of timing,"AFPBrazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on January 3, confirming that he will move his country's embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Bolsonaro's statement confirms information previously released by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu traveled to Brazil last week to attend Bolsonaro's inauguration on January 1.

Bolsonaro, a right-wing politician who has embraced the US and Israel, announced after his election that he would follow US President Donald Trump in moving the embassy to Jerusalem. This was a controversial decision, as Israel considers all of Jerusalem its capital, while Palestinians consider East Jerusalem the capital of their future state.

Most countries around the world still have embassies in Tel Aviv and agree that Jerusalem's status can only be determined through peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine.

However, Bolsonaro said that Arab countries all support the US position on the issue of Israel's capital, the only obstacle is Iran. He said that Arab countries will not take retaliatory action against Brazil after this decision and hoped that some countries will only apply economic sanctions.

Brazil will be the second largest country after the United States to move its embassy to Jerusalem. Two other Latin American countries, Guatemala and Paraguay, had also announced plans to move their embassies to Jerusalem but later withdrew their plans.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed the land, without international recognition.