The authorities of Nauru have launched this Monday their Embassy in Israel in the city of Jerusalem, just over a month after the small island state of the Pacific announced its decision in the context of its “strengthening” of bilateral ties.
The Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, celebrated the inauguration during the official event alongside his Nauruan counterpart, Lionel Aingimea, from whom he emphasized his “determination and efficiency” to make the opening of the diplomatic mission possible, which he also framed in “the firm friendship” between both countries.
“At today’s emotional ceremony, I told him: ‘This is a true legacy. Today, you placed a brick in the walls of Jerusalem,'” Saar noted in a message shared on social media. “The Embassy of Nauru is the ninth in Jerusalem. Next month, there will be a tenth,” he added, referring to the plans of Colombia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to take this same step.
The installation of embassies in Jerusalem provokes the rejection of the Palestinian Authority and various Palestinian factions, as East Jerusalem remains under Israeli occupation since the Six-Day War of 1967. It is in the western part of the city where the seat of Parliament, the Supreme Court, and several Israeli ministries are located.
Although Israel claims the city as its “unified” capital, the majority of the international community —with few exceptions, including the United States— does not recognize it as such, and the proposed two-state solution envisions a future Palestinian state with the borders of 1967 and Jerusalem as a capital shared by both peoples.
