Nauru, a Pacific island nation of about 12,000 people, opened an embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, joining a small group of countries whose diplomatic missions in the city support Israel’s claim to it as its capital.
The move runs counter to the position of most countries, which maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv and regard Jerusalem’s status as a matter to be resolved through an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement.
Nauru’s vice president and foreign minister, Lionel Aingimea, said the embassy’s opening strengthened relations with Israel and sent a message to the world about his country’s position, according to AFP, cited by Erem News.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar praised Nauru as one of Israel’s closest friends during the opening ceremony and said other countries were expected to follow.
Saar said Colombia was expected to open an embassy in Jerusalem in early October. According to the report, Colombia’s new right-wing president, Abelardo de la Espriella, announced the move in July, although Bogotá has yet to confirm an opening date.
The Democratic Republic of Congo also announced last week that it intended to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem, the report said. Argentine President Javier Milei, a staunch supporter of Israel, has pledged a similar move.
The United States moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term, breaking with the longstanding diplomatic approach followed by most countries.
A handful of countries have since established embassies in the city, including Guatemala, Honduras, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Fiji.
Jerusalem remains one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 war and later annexed it, a move not recognised by the United Nations. Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state.
Israel regards the entire city as its capital. Its parliament, prime minister’s office and other major government institutions are based there.
Nauru, a small coral island in the Pacific, was formerly a German colony and later came under Australian administration. It became an independent republic in 1968.
