Senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi warns Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro over his vow to maintain his campaign-promise to relocate Brazil’s embassy to Jerusalem as, “provocative and illegal.”

By Elad Benari

Senior Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official Hanan Ashrawi on Friday condemned Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro’s announcement that he would move his country’s Israel embassy to Jerusalem.

“These are provocative and illegal steps that will only destabilize security and stability in the region,” Ashrawi, a member of the PLO executive committee, told AFP.

Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro (left) and PLO official Hanan Ashrawi (right) – Photos: Wikimedia

“It is very unfortunate that Brazil has joined this negative alliance against international law,” she said, referring to a small number of countries supporting the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move its embassy there.

Bolsonaro on Thursday announced via Twitter that he intended to uphold his campaign promise.

“As previously stated during our campaign, we intend to transfer the Brazilian Embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem. Israel is a sovereign state and we shall duly respect that,” he wrote.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu later hailed Bolsonaro’s announcement.

“I congratulate my friend Brazilian President-Elect, Jair Bolsonaro, for his intention to move the Brazilian Embassy to Jerusalem, a historic, correct and exciting step!” he said.

Bolsonaro, who has been dubbed “the Trump of Brazil”, was elected in a runoff on Sunday, defeating Workers’ Party candidate Fernando Haddad by a ten-point margin, 55% to 45%.

Like Trump, he had vowed during the election campaign to relocate his nation’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Guatemala and Paraguay also moved their embassies to Jerusalem after the US relocation, though the Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez recently reversed his predecessor’s decision and announced the embassy would move from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv.

View original Arutz Sheva publication at:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254190