Israel helped the Guatemalan military juntas during the genocide against the Mayan people in the 1980s.President Guatemala Jimmy Morales said Sunday his country will return their embassy to Jerusalem on May 16, in support of the United States decision to do the same,"We've ordered that Guatemala returns and permanently moves its embassy to Jerusalem two days after the United States of America moves its embassy," said Morales during his speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) annual meeting in Washington Sunday, to which he was invited after Guatemala's support for Israel.Morales thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for "leading the way," and said "his brave decision" guided them to make "the right thing." “Our failure, as Arab states, to implement our decisions throughout the past many years has encouraged the United States to continue with its errant program and baseless decision regarding Jerusalem,” Maliki told the official PA news site Wafa.In early December, President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and initiated the relocation of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv to the city, breaking with decades of American policy and infuriating many Palestinians.Maliki specifically said the failure of Arab states to enforce a 1980 Arab League summit decision about Jerusalem has given the US confidence to continue standing behind its new policies on Jerusalem.At the 1980 meeting in Amman, Arab states declared they would “sever all ties with states that transfer their embassies to Jerusalem or recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.”While Arab states have condemned the Trump administration for its Jerusalem moves, none of them has implemented the 1980 Arab League summit decision.In fact, a number of Arab leaders have continued to meet and arrange meetings with Trump administration officials.In January, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah met US Vice President Mike Pence when the Pence visited their countries. Guatemala was one of a handful of countries that backed a UN vote on US President Donald Trump's December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.Last Sunday, President Morales confirmed at AIPAC that the embassy would move to Jerusalem two days after the United States, in mid-May and Palestinians were fuming as the Guatemalan ambassador Sara Castaneda toured Jerusalem on Monday, looking at properties for the future embassy.The status of Jerusalem is one of the biggest obstacles to any peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, who want east Jerusalem as their capital.The Arab League had expected that Guatemala would seek to value their political, economic and cultural bilateral cooperation and uphold international law and justice, Spokesman Afifi said in his Thursday statement.However, he emphasized that the Arabs were willing to maintain friendly relations with Guatemala and avoid any actions that could harm such relations in the future.Reuters contributed to this report.
Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit demands Guatemala reverse its decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, Sandra Jovel says the move is "irreversible."