The move by Bolsonaro's far-right government would mark a sharp shift in Brazilian foreign policy, which has traditionally backed a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
(Reuters)
Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Brazil's President-elect
Jair Bolsonaro told him that it was a matter of "when, not if"
he moves his country's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
The far-right Bolsonaro, who takes office on Tuesday and is
hosting Netanyahu and the leaders of other counties for his
inauguration, has said he would like to follow the lead of US
President Donald Trump and move the embassy.
But he has come under intense pressure from Brazil's
powerful agriculture sector not to do so, as it could hurt
Brazilian exports to Arab nations.
Such a move by Bolsonaro would be a sharp shift in Brazilian
foreign policy, which has traditionally backed a two-state
solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Arab League had told Bolsonaro that moving the embassy
to Jerusalem would be a setback for relations with Arab
countries, according to a letter seen by Reuters earlier in
December.
"Bolsonaro told me it was "when, not if" he moves the
embassy to Jerusalem," Netanyahu said on Sunday during a meeting
with leaders of Brazil's Jewish community in Rio de Janeiro.
"We attach enormous importance to Brazil, and Brazil in the
context of Latin America," he added. "This heralds a historic
change."
Netanyahu, who met with Bolsonaro on Friday, said that the
Brazilian accepted his invitation to visit Israel, a trip that
is likely to take place in March.
Netanyahu is the first Israeli prime minister to visit
Brazil.
After he met the Israeli leader, Bolsonaro said that "we need good allies, good friends, good brothers, like Benjamin Netanyahu."Source: trtworld.com
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