Honduran president in Israel for opening of Jerusalem embassy
Central American nation joins US, Guatemala, Kosovo in opening embassy in Israel's capital
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was in Israel Thursday for the inauguration of his country's embassy in Jerusalem.
It will be the fourth foreign embassy to open in Jerusalem in recent years after the United States, Guatemala and Kosovo.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was scheduled to meet with Hernández Thursday morning before attending the opening ceremony.
Hernández was also expected to meet later with Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who played a large role in facilitating the embassy move.
Israel is set to open a diplomatic office in Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras, in response, after opening a temporary representative office there last August.
The two countries agreed to open embassies in their respective capitals during a phone call between Hernández and Netanyahu last September, but the Jerusalem embassy move was delayed to the COVID-19 crisis and domestic political uncertainty in Israel.
Hernández decided on the embassy move for this summer as his four-year presidential term ends this upcoming fall.
Honduras recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in August 2019 and a month later opened a commercial office in Jerusalem as an extension to Honduras’s embassy in Rishon Lezion.