Papua New Guinea to open embassy in Jerusalem next week

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Papua New Guinea will open its embassy in Jerusalem next week, according to Israeli media on Monday.

The embassy will be opened on September 5 during a visit by Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape to Israel, The Times of Israel newspaper reported.

Papua New Guinea established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1978 and currently maintains a consulate near Tel Aviv.

Israel, meanwhile, handles its relations with Papua New Guinea through its embassy in Australia.

According to Israeli Channel 14, Israel has recently provided Papua New Guinea with assistance in the fields of agriculture, medicine and humanitarian aid.

In return, the Papua New Guinean authorities have stopped voting in recent years on resolutions against Israel at the UN.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Mideast conflict, with Palestinians insisting that East Jerusalem – illegally occupied by Israel since 1967 – should serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.

In 2018, the United States moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move that was followed by a number of countries, including Honduras, Guatemala and Kosovo.

Last week, Sierra Leone said it will also move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara