Honduran lawmakers have passed a resolution to move the nation’s embassy in Israel from its present location in Tel Aviv to the Israeli capital city of Jerusalem.
While the resolution is legally non-binding, it is the latest sign the Central American nation may be on the verge of joining the United States and Guatemala in recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocating its embassy.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon hailed the vote in a tweet Friday, adding that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is scheduled to speak with Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez later on Friday.
“Israel congratulates the National Congress of #Honduras for passing with an overwhelming majority a resolution in favor of opening an Embassy in #Jerusalem. A conversation between @IsraeliPM @netanyahu and the President of #Honduras is due to take place soon.”
Honduras was one of just nine countries in the 193-member United Nations General Assembly – including the US and Israel – that voted against a resolution condemning the Trump administration’s December 6th declaration recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and announcing the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem.
“That was not an easy decision for any country to have to vote on, but the people of Honduras stood with us in being able to make that decision for ourselves and decide where we want our embassy and to know that is our right,” Haley said in a February news conference with Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, according to AFP.