New Brazilian President Says He’ll Move Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem By Zachary Stieber
https://www.theepochtimes.com/new-brazilian-president-says-hell-move-embassy-in-israel-to-jerusalem_2702644.html
Newly elected Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said that he’ll move Brazil’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, following President Donald Trump’s lead.
Bolsonaro made the pledge to move the Brazilian embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in August, reported JTA. After the United States moved its embassy to Jerusalem, a number of other countries followed suit, including Guatemala.
Bolsonaro also said he would shut down the Palestinian embassy in Brazil, noting that Palestine isn’t a country.
“Is Palestine a country? Palestine is not a country, so there should be no embassy here,” he said.
“You do not negotiate with terrorists,” he added, referring to how the Palestine territories are mostly controlled by the terrorist group, Hamas.
Bolsonaro, 63, has spoken highly of Israel during his campaign and said at one point that his first international trip as president would be to the Middle Eastern country.
“Bolsonaro stood out among the many candidates for including the State of Israel in the major speeches he made during the campaign,” Israel’s honorary consul in Rio, Osias Wurman, told JTA. “He is a lover of the people and the State of Israel.”
His son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, considered one of the most influential voices in his father’s campaign, told Bloomberg in August that Brazil should sever ties with Venezuela’s socialist government and distance itself from Iran, which supports multiple terror groups, while getting closer with Israel.
“You need to play tough with Venezuela. It’ll be a 180-degree change in relation to Venezuela,” he said. “Pro-Iranian position? It’ll change.”
About moving the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, he added, “We’re very sympathetic to the idea. Our side is being against Hamas, Hezbollah, the Islamic state.”
Bolsonaro, who will take office on Jan. 1, 2019, earned 56 percent of the vote to 44 percent for leftist Fernando Haddad.
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