PA livid after Honduras opens embassy in Jerusalem

Dalit Halevi(INN)

The Palestinian Authority (PA) “foreign affairs ministry” on Thursday strongly condemned the relocation of the Honduran embassy to Jerusalem, calling it a “blatant violation of international law and clear UN decisions regarding the holy city and its legal and political status.”

“It is unfortunate that the President of Honduras has decided to be on the wrong side of history and take this hostile step against the Palestinian people, while the occupying force is working to escalate violations of rights against the Palestinian people and implement its racist plan in Jerusalem to establish the occupation and destroy any real opportunity for just and comprehensive peace,” said the bureau in a statement.

The “ministry of foreign affairs” stated that this decision completely contradicts the decision made by Honduras on August 26, 2011 recognizing the state of “Palestine” with eastern Jerusalem as its capital.

According to the bureau, the President of Honduras made his decision for personal reasons without taking into account the international consensus regarding Jerusalem and the right of the “Palestinian people” to establish an independent state with eastern Jerusalem as his capital.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met on Thursday at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem with Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez.

The leaders met privately and then held a working meeting with the participation of Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Honduran Secretary of State for Foreign Relations and International Cooperation Lisandro Rosales Banegas, the Honduran Minister of the Presidency and the head of the Honduran tax authority.

Following the meeting, the foreign ministers signed a bilateral MOU regarding plans and projects in agriculture, water resource management, health and sharing information on developing innovation. An agreement was also signed on the employment of the spouses of diplomatic, administrative, consular and technical representatives in diplomatic missions in order for them to receive permits to work outside the embassy.

The leaders then dedicated the Honduran Embassy in Jerusalem.

Honduras became the fourth country to open an embassy in Jerusalem, following the United States, Kosovo and Guatemala.

Last August, then-Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi inaugurated an Israeli office of cooperation in Honduras, which focuses on promoting joint projects in the fields of economics and development.