DR Congo to Move Its Embassy From Tel Aviv to Jerusalem After Bilateral Meeting
- DR Congo and Israel issued a joint statement after President Tshisekedi visited Israel and held talks with Prime Minister Netanyahu
- The two countries agreed to relocate the DRC embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, though no timeline was given
- The move would make DR Congo one of only a handful of countries to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital with a diplomatic mission there
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The Democratic Republic of Congo has said it will move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, following a visit by President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A joint statement released after the meeting said both leaders expressed a "shared commitment to strengthening diplomatic relations" and that steps would be taken towards "the relocation of the embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem."
Source: Getty Images
No specific timeline was attached to the announcement.
Tshisekedi has publicly expressed warm sentiments toward Israel over many years, saying his Christian faith informs that position. He has also been seeking closer ties with the United States, which has put growing pressure on neighbouring Rwanda over armed rebel activity in eastern Congo.
A rare move with a short list of precedents
Most countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Israel keep their embassies in Tel Aviv, a position rooted in the view that the final status of Jerusalem should be resolved as part of a broader Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.
That consensus was broken in 2018 when former US President Donald Trump moved the American embassy to Jerusalem during his first term. Since then, only a small number of countries have followed: Fiji, Guatemala, Honduras, Papua New Guinea, and Paraguay. Kosovo and Somaliland, which are not United Nations member states, have also opened missions they describe as embassies in Jerusalem.
Israel captured the eastern part of Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it, declaring the city its eternal and undivided capital. Jerusalem is the seat of Israel's parliament, prime minister, and most other central government institutions.
Colombia and Argentina also signal shifts
The DRC announcement follows a similar declaration from Colombia's new hard-right president, Abelardo de la Espriella, who said weeks ago that his country would also relocate its embassy to Jerusalem. That pledge marks a sharp reversal from the position of his leftist predecessor, who openly criticised Israel over its military offensive in Gaza.
Argentine President Javier Milei, another outspoken right-wing supporter of Israel in Latin America, has also promised to move Argentina's embassy to Jerusalem. That move has not yet happened, reportedly because of a dispute involving an Israeli company's plans to drill for oil in the Falkland Islands, a British-controlled territory that Argentina claims and refers to as the Malvinas.
Source: Legit.ng
