Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales on Sunday announced he would return his country's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in May during an annual policy conference held by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

"In May of this year, we will celebrate Israel's 70th anniversary, and under my instructions, two days after the US moves its embassy, Guatemala will return and permanently move its embassy to Jerusalem," said Morales.

"I would like to thank President Trump for leading the way. His courageous decision has encouraged us to do what is right."

Read more: Two reasons behind Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital

Guatemala was one of the few countries to endorse US President Donald Trump's decision to unilaterally recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a move that prompted outrage across the international community.

Morales, whose base includes strong conservative Christian support, said his decision "strongly evidences Guatemala's continued support and solidarity with the people of Israel."

President Jimmy Morales (right) is a vocal supporter of Israel

One of the few

Guatemala, along with a handful of countries, maintained a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem before 1980, but relocated it that year after the UN Security Council passed a resolution pressuring them to move their embassies elsewhere.

Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital has triggered widespread criticism within the international community for undermining the peace process aimed at finding a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Read more: Religion must rise above politics in Jerusalem, says Father Nicodemus

Federica Mogherini, the EU's top diplomat, last year said Brussels will continue to recognize the "international consensus" on Jerusalem, which insists that the city's status must be settled in peace talks with the Palestinians.

The status of Jerusalem has been a major sticking point during previous negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, especially on the subject of how to divide sovereignty and oversee holy sites.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Jerusalem, the city of David According to the Old Testament, David, king of the two partial kingdoms of Judah and Israel, won Jerusalem from the Jebusites around 1000 BC. He moved his seat of government to Jerusalem, making it the capital and religious center of his kingdom. The Bible says David's son Solomon built the first temple for Yahweh, the God of Israel. Jerusalem became the center of Judaism.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Under Persian rule The Neo-Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II (3rd from the left) conquered Jerusalem in 597 and again in 586 BC, as the Bible says. He took King Jehoiakim (5th from the right) and the Jewish upper class into captivity, sent them to Babylon and destroyed the temple. After Persian king Cyrus the Great seized Babylon, he allowed the exiled Jews to return home to Jerusalem and to rebuild their temple.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Under Roman and Byzantine rule The Roman Empire ruled Jerusalem from the year 63 AD. Resistance movements rapidly formed among the population, so that in 66 AD, the First Jewish–Roman War broke out. The war ended 4 years later, with a Roman victory and another destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The Romans and Byzantines ruled Palestine for approximately 600 years.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Conquest by the Arabs Over the course of the Islamic conquest of Greater Syria, Muslim armies also reached Palestine. By order of the Caliph Umar (in the picture), Jerusalem was besieged and captured in the year 637 AD. In the following era of Muslim rule, various, mutually hostile and religiously divided rulers presided over the city. Jerusalem was often besieged and changed hands several times.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history The Crusades From 1070 AD onward, the Muslim Seljuk rulers increasingly threatened the Christian world. Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade, which took Jerusalem in 1099 AD. Over a period of 200 years a total of nine crusades set out to conquer the city as it changed hands between Muslim and Christian rule. In 1244 AD the crusaders finally lost control of the city and it once again became Muslim.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history The Ottomans and the British After the conquest of Egypt and Arabia by the Ottomans, Jerusalem became the seat of an Ottoman administrative district in 1535 AD. In its first decades of Ottoman rule, the city saw a clear revival. With a British victory over Ottoman troops in 1917 AD, Palestine fell under British rule. Jerusalem went to the British without a fight.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history The divided city After World War II, the British gave up their Palestinian Mandate. The UN voted for a division of the country in order to create a home for the survivors of the Holocaust. Some Arab states then went to war against Israel and conquered part of Jerusalem. Until 1967, the city was divided into an Israeli west and a Jordanian east.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history East Jerusalem goes back to Israel In 1967, Israel waged the Six-Day War against Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Israel took control of the Sinai, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem. Israeli paratroopers gained access to the Old City and stood at the Wailing Wall for the first time since 1949. East Jerusalem is not officially annexed, but rather integrated into the administration.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Muslim pilgrimage to Israel Israel has not denied Muslims access to its holy places. The Temple Mount is under an autonomous Muslim administration; Muslims can enter, visit the Dome of the Rock and the adjacent Al-Aqsa mosque and pray there.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Unresolved status Jerusalem remains to this day an obstacle to peace between Israel and Palestine. In 1980, Israel declared the whole city its "eternal and indivisible capital." After Jordan gave up its claim to the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1988, the state of Palestine was proclaimed. Palestine also declares, in theory, Jerusalem as its capital. Author: Ines Eisele



ls/cmk (Reuters, EFE)

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