The leaders of Romania and Honduras have announced they will recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, following the lead of President Donald Trump.

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez delivered their announcements Sunday at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference in Washington. The announcements were welcomed by Israeli politicians.

Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved the U.S. Embassy to the city, a move that was applauded by Israel. Guatemala followed suit.

The move angered the Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as capital of a future state.

Most countries have embassies in Tel Aviv out of sensitivity over the contested city. The Palestinians, and most of the international community, say the city's final status should be resolved in negotiations.</s>JERUSALEM (AP) — The leaders of Romania and Honduras on Sunday announced that they will recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, following the lead of President Donald Trump.

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez delivered their announcements at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference in Washington. The announcements were welcomed by Israeli politicians.

However, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, a government rival who's in charge of the East European nation's foreign policy, said the prime minister hadn't consulted with him over the decision. He accused her of "total ignorance" of foreign policy.

The move is considered controversial as it goes against the rest of the European Union. Romania currently holds the bloc's rotating presidency.

Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved the U.S. Embassy to the city, a move that was applauded by Israel. Guatemala followed suit.

The move angered the Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as capital of a future state.

Most countries have embassies in Tel Aviv out of sensitivity over the contested city. The Palestinians, and most of the international community, say the city's final status should be resolved in negotiations.</s>Three more countries will be joining the rush to establish embassies in the eternal capital of Israel, Jerusalem.

Juan Orlando Hernández, the president of Honduras, announced on Sunday at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington D.C. that his country will be opening an embassy in Jerusalem “immediately.”

“Honduras will immediately open our official diplomatic mission and this will extend our embassy to the capital of Israel, Jerusalem,” Juan Orlando Hernández told the crowd.

Cape Verde, or Cabo Verde, is a Portuguese-speaking nation on a volcanic archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa. Jews first moved there in the wake of the Inquisition at the end of the 15th Century and another wave arrived in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries from Morocco and Gibraltar. There are currently no practicing Jews in Cape Verde.

Not to be outdone, Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă made a similar announcement at AIPAC on the same day. Romania is perceived as a strong ally of Israel in the European Union. In April, the Romanian government approved a resolution to move the embassy, which had Dăncilă’s support, but President Klaus Iohannis, who has final say in the matter, blocked the initiative. In January she visited Israel and discussed the embassy move with Prime Minister Netanyahu. When she returned to her country opposition head and chairman of the National Liberal Party Ludovic Orban filed a complaint against Dăncilă at a special tribunal, charging the premier with treason.</s>Honduras will move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, President Juan Orlando Hernández announced on Sunday. Speaking at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington DC, Hernández referred to Jerusalem as the true “capital of Israel,” and said the move will be effective “immediately.” The United States and Guatemala already made the controversial move last year. Israel and the Palestinian Authority both consider Jerusalem their capital, and the city contains sites sacred to Jews and Muslims.</s>Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez announced his country’s plans to move its diplomatic mission in Israel from Tel Aviv to Yerushalayim.

Hernandez made the announcement Sunday during the 2019 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington.

Speaking at the meeting of the AIPAC Policy Conference, Hernandez said Honduras would “immediately transfer our official diplomatic mission and this will extend our embassy to the capital of Israel, Jerusalem.”

In the long term, Hernandez says his country will move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem once Israel opens an embassy in the Honduras capital of Tegucigalpa.

Last year, Honduras was one of only eight countries that opposed a U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, along with Guatemala, Israel, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Togo.

Once Honduras’ embassy move is completed, it will join the U.S. and Guatemala as the only three countries with full-fledged embassies located in the Israeli capital.

Paraguay, which had initially followed the U.S. and Guatemala and moved its embassy to Jerusalem in 2018, later moved its diplomatic mission back to Tel Aviv.

In related news at the AIPAC conference, Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă announced that his country will also be moving their embassy to Jerusalem.

“I as Prime Minister of Romania, and the government I run, will move our embassy to Jerusalem. Our suppot of the State of Israel and the Jewish community is constant.” said Dăncilă.

Other countries have suggested they may also relocate their embassies to Jerusalem.</s>Romania will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila announced at the AIPAC summit in Washington on Sunday, in a controversial move that goes against the rest of the European Union.

Speaking at the Israel lobby group American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) conference, Dancila said Romania intends to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which she referred to as Israel’s capital, in a move that follows the US’ controversial decision to do so last year.

Most nations with diplomatic relations with Israel have their embassies in Tel Aviv, as, although Israel claims Jerusalem as its capital, it is not recognized as such by the international community. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as their future capital, and Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since the 1967 war, when it annexed the area from the rest of the West Bank.

Dancila is currently president of the Council of the European Union and the move is a marked departure from the position held by the rest of the EU. Romania, along with Hungary and the Czech Republic, reportedly blocked an EU resolution objecting to the US embassy move, which said Jerusalem should be capital of both Israel and Palestine.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Dancila to move Romania’s embassy when she visited Israel in January. “I hope you will act to stop the bad resolutions against Israel in the European Union,” he said. “And also, of course, to move your embassy and other embassies to Jerusalem.”

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis called for Dancila to resign last April after she pushed a secret memorandum to move the embassy without consulting him, and after she went on a state visit to Israel without consulting him. As president, Iohannis is in charge of foreign policy and has the final decision on such moves.

Speaking before another meeting between Romania and Israel in November, Netanyahu explained some of the reasons they enjoy good relations: “We cooperate in matters of security, anti-terror. Romania stands often with Israel in difficult diplomatic arenas and we appreciate this. We recognize our friends and we consider Romania a great friend.” Netanyahu also referred to their shared concerns about “radical Islam.”

The president of Honduras also told AIPAC it would open diplomatic representation in Jerusalem, and hinted that if AIPAC would lobby on behalf of his country, he would consider opening an embassy too, Haaretz reports. Brazil has also said it will consider moving its embassy. Guatemala is the only country apart from the US to have moved its embassy to Jerusalem so far.</s>Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said Sunday that her country would recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv.

The diplomatic status of Jerusalem has been hotly disputed since US President Donald Trump recognized the city as Israel's capital in late 2017.

What you need to know:
• Dancila said Romania would move its "embassy to Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Israel."
• Romania would "remain the same loyal friend and the strongest European voice in support of the Jewish people and the State of Israel," she added.
• The prime minister made the announcement at the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful pro-Israel lobby group.

Read more: Jerusalem: Three things to know

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "I congratulate my friend, the Prime Minister of Romania, Viorica Dancila, on her announcement at AIPAC that she would act to complete the procedures needed to open the Romanian embassy in Jerusalem."

Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestine Liberation Organization official, said Dancila's announcement was a "blatant violation of Palestinian rights, international law, and UN resolutions."

Read more: The 1967 Six-Day War and its difficult legacy

'Total ignorance': The potential move goes against the stance held by the rest of the European Union. Romania currently holds the six-month rotating presidency of the bloc. And Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is the person in charge of foreign policy in Bucharest. He said that he had not been consulted on the statement, which showed "total ignorance" of foreign policy.

Historical tensions: East Jerusalem was captured by Israel from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War. In 1980, Israel effectively annexed the area and declared the entire city as its capital. This move was never recognized by most of the international community.

Challenging path to peace: Palestinians say countries shifting their embassies complicate any effort to forge a lasting peace. The United Nations has recommended that countries should not move their embassies to Jerusalem in the absence of a resolution between the Israeli and Palestinian people.

Read more: US to recognize Golan Heights as Israeli territory Monday: Israeli FM

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.</s>TEGUCIGALPA, March 24 (Reuters) - Honduras on Sunday described Jerusalem as Israel's capital and said it would open an office there for trade to complement its embassy in Tel Aviv, but it was not immediately clear if the news marked a formal change in its policy toward the holy city.

In a statement, the Honduran foreign ministry said that the Central American country would open a "trade office in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, which would be like an extension of the Honduran embassy in the city of Tel Aviv."

Officials could not immediately be reached to clarify whether Honduras had formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, following in the footsteps of U.S. President Donald Trump, who last May moved the U.S. embassy to the city.

Plans for the "immediate" opening of the trade office were also announced on Twitter by President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who has in recent months signaled that his government is mulling moving the Honduran embassy to Jerusalem.

Hernandez, an ally of the United States, is in Washington to participate in a conference on U.S.-Israeli relations.

The Honduran foreign ministry said in a statement that Israel would in a reciprocal gesture open an office for cooperation in Tegucigalpa, giving it diplomatic status.

Honduras' Central American neighbor Guatemala in May moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after the United States, fueling expectations that Hernandez might follow suit. (Reporting by Orfa Mejia; Editing by Sandra Maler)</s>TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras on Sunday described Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and said it would open an office there for trade to complement its embassy in Tel Aviv, but it was not immediately clear if the news marked a formal change in its policy toward the holy city.

In a statement, the Honduran foreign ministry said that the Central American country would open a “trade office in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, which would be like an extension of the Honduran embassy in the city of Tel Aviv.”

Officials could not immediately be reached to clarify whether Honduras had formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, following in the footsteps of U.S. President Donald Trump, who last May moved the U.S. embassy to the disputed city.

Trump’s move was criticized by many foreign governments and caused anger among Palestinians, who with broad international backing seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they want to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

East Jerusalem is still considered occupied under international law, and the city’s status is supposed to be decided as part of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.

Plans for the “immediate” opening of the Honduran trade office were also announced on Twitter by President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who has in recent months signaled that his government is mulling moving the Honduran embassy to Jerusalem.

Hernandez, an ally of the United States, is in Washington to participate in a conference on U.S.-Israeli relations.

The Honduran foreign ministry said in a statement that Israel would in a reciprocal gesture open an office for cooperation in Tegucigalpa, giving it diplomatic status.

Honduras’ Central American neighbor Guatemala in May moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after the United States, fueling expectations that Hernandez might follow suit.</s>Prime Mister Viorica Dancila announced that Romania's Embassy in Israel will be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

"Romania's Government initiated an assessment process regarding the opportuneness of moving Romania's Embassy to Jerusalem. This is why, I am delighted to announced today, before the AIPAC audience, that after the completion of the analysis by all the constitutional actors involved in the decision-making process of my country and in full consensus, I, as Romania's Prime Minister and the Government that I lead, we'll move Romania's Embassy to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel," she stated on Sunday within the Conference of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which takes place in the US.
In Washington, D.C., the leaders of Romania and Honduras announce they will recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, following the lead of the United States.