Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto inaugurated a new trade representation of his country in Jerusalem, diplomatically, according to AFP.
For the Israeli government, it is another step towards recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
“We are enjoying an exciting moment because it is the first European diplomatic mission open to Jerusalem for decades,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the ceremony.
Three Hungarian diplomats will be allocated to this mission, he said. Hungary “leads the movement in favor of a change of attitude in Europe towards Jerusalem,” he said.
The mission, a subsidiary of the embassy still in Tel-Aviv, is in West Jerusalem.
The state of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As a large part of the international community, the EU considers that the definitive status of Jerusalem must be regulated through negotiations.
Netanyahu, however, is struggling to persuade Central European governments to criticize EU policies on an open stage.
The objective is to undermine the unity of a European Union that criticizes Israel’s occupation and colonization of Palestinian territories, according to analysts.
The Czechs inaugurated a representation in Jerusalem in November, but without a diplomatic status.
Furthermore Liviu Dragnea announced the moving of the Romanian embassy to Jerusalem, but the project seems to have stopped after President Klaus Iohannis, who heads Romania’s foreign policy, has opposed.
Source: HotNews (Translation TFP)
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