Argentina to move Israel embassy to Jerusalem in 2026
JERUSALEM — Argentine President Javier Milei said Wednesday his country would in 2026 move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the status of which is one of the most delicate issues in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
'I am proud to announce before you that in 2026 we will make effective the move of our embassy to the city of west Jerusalem, as we promised,' Milei said in a speech in the Israeli parliament during an official state visit.
Argentina's embassy is currently located in Herzliya near the coastal city of Tel Aviv.
This is Milei's second visit to Israel since being elected in 2023. His previous trip, in February 2024, was his first official state visit outside of Argentina.
During that trip he announced plans to move Argentina's embassy to Jerusalem -- a controversial move that echoed US President Donald Trump's shock 2017 decision to unilaterally recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Israel has occupied east Jerusalem since 1967, later annexing it in a move not recognised by the international community.
Israel treats the city as its capital, while Palestinians want east Jerusalem to become the capital of a future state.
Most foreign embassies to Israel are located in the coastal hub city of Tel Aviv in order to avoid interfering with negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
Speaking ahead of Milei's address to parliament on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said 'the city of Jerusalem will never be divided again.'
Several countries, including the United States, Paraguay, Guatemala, Honduras and Kosovo, have moved their embassies to Jerusalem, breaking with international consensus.
'Stand firm'
In 2017, during his first term as US president, Trump unilaterally recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, sparking Palestinian anger and the international community's disapproval.
The United States transferred its embassy to Jerusalem in May 2018.
Milei, who has professed a deep interest in Judaism and studied Jewish scripture, is one of Israel's staunchest defenders.
As Israel faces mounting international pressure over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza after more than 20 months of war, Milei sought to express his support.
'As a nation, we want to stand firm alongside you as you go through these dark days, we will not yield to criticism resulting from cowardice or complicity with barbarism,' he said on Tuesday during a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
He also demanded the 'unconditional return of the four Argentines still in captivity' in Gaza after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war.
The Palestinian militant group's attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the retaliatory Israeli military offensive has killed at least 55,104 people, the majority civilians. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable.
Out of 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack, 54 are still held in Gaza including 32 the Israeli military says are dead.
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Toronto Star
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an hour ago
Dozens of Canadians gather in Egypt ahead of global march to Gaza border
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Unclear if planned march will go ahead Egypt had earlier warned that only those who received authorization would be allowed to travel the planned march route, acknowledging it had received numerous requests and inquiries. Egypt holds the right to take all necessary measures to preserve its national security, including the regulation of the entry and movement of individuals within its territory, especially in sensitive border areas, its foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Israel Katz, Israel's defence minister, referred to the protestors as jihadists on Wednesday and called on Egypt to prevent them from reaching the border with Gaza. He said they endanger the Egyptian regime and constitute a threat to all moderate Arab regimes in the region. Kelsey Lyseng, a registered nurse in Edmonton, said while she has made plans in hopes of reaching the Rafah crossing, there are no guarantees that the march will not face obstacles along the way. It's such a tense situation. Escalation can happen at any point, whether that's someone deciding that on the Egypt side or the Israeli side that this [march] is something they don't want to happen and they escalate in terms of just stopping us and turning us back, Lyseng told CBC News on Tuesday, ahead of her trip. "As we've seen with the Freedom Flotilla (new window) , that's a very real possibility." Thomas Piekutowski from Montreal and Kelsey Lyseng from Edmonton are part of the Canadian delegation will be taking part in the three-day walk from Al-Arish to Rafah, frustrated by what they call a 'lack of action' from Canada. (Submitted by Thomas Piekutowski and Kelsey Lyseng) Photo: (Submitted by Thomas Piekutowski and Kelsey Lyseng) Earlier this week, Israeli forces seized the Madleen, a small aid ship (new window) , which was seeking to break a longstanding naval blockade of Gaza, and the 12-strong crew were brought to Israel before some were detained awaiting a court hearing on their legal status while others were deported back (new window) to their home countries. The incident comes after earlier attempts of aid boats trying to break Israel's naval blockade that has been imposed since 2007, and roughly one month after another ship bound for Gaza carrying humanitarian aid and activists was bombed by drones in international waters off Malta. Desire to show solidarity, help on the ground Lyseng said she has been saving for an opportunity to help in some way on the ground. I honestly have wanted to go physically since October 7th because I've known about the dehumanization of Palestinians for seven or eight years now, she said. The Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killed more than 1,200 people while 251 were taken hostage, according to Israel. Israel says there are still 56 hostages held by Hamas, with fewer than half believed to be alive. WATCH | Windsor, Ont., couple on why they are joining global march to Gaza: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? A Windsor couple preparing to join global march to Gaza border to protest war A Windsor Ont., couple is preparing to make the journey to the middle east to join a peaceful global protest to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. CBC's Katerina Georgieva reports. Israel's campaign in Gaza has since killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, and reduced much of the territory to a wasteland. Lyseng, who works in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), said seeing images of malnourished children (new window) facing starvation and risk of famine is especially difficult for her. Seeing babies in their incubators, just skin and bones [or] seeing a child have their entire family's house and all of their family members [killed] and he's sitting on the roof crying, asking for mom or literally anybody and there's no one for him, she said. [Those scenes] stay in my memory forever as a moment of like, what the f–k are we doing? What are we doing as a society? What is the point of what we're doing right now? 'Frustrated with the lack of action,' Canadian says Thomas Piekutowski, a retired resident of Montreal, says while his awareness for the Palestinian plight goes back decades, he sees Israel's response to the Oct. 7 attack as disproportionate. Piekutowski said he has participated in demonstrations in Montreal, signed petitions and written letter to elected officials urging the Canadian government to address Israel's attacks on Gaza. I just feel very frustrated with the lack of action, Piekutowski told CBC News ahead of his trip. He says the latest actions taken by the Canadian government, including placing sanctions (new window) on two Israeli cabinet ministers who took part in promoting extremist settler violence, simply doesn't go far enough to pressure Israel. I would like that to be so much pressure on [Israel] and that they start to feel the pain of economic sanctions and boycotts that they do decide to open the border. Activists to demand opening of humanitarian corridor Israel controls the Rafah border in Gaza, severely controlling aid access into the enclave. It briefly reopened to Egypt earlier this year but shuttered after the total blockade began in March. In less than two weeks after hearing about the march to Gaza, Piekutowski was preparing to head to Cairo to join the movement alongside other activists from all over the world. This current situation of starvation and death caused by lack of water, lack of food, lack of medications, it's inhumane, it's totally sickening and it's wrong. WATCH | Thousands of children at risk of severe malnutrition: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Warnings of starvation, famine in Gaza from UN and NGOs The United Nations says 14,000 children are at risk of severe malnutrition over the next 11 months if critical aid doesn't arrive. Clarification: An earlier version of this video contained incorrect information from the UN regarding the timeline of that estimate. Israel imposed a total blockade of all food or aid supplies reaching Gaza for roughly 11 weeks starting on March 2. which aid groups say has driven the population of more than two million to the brink of famine. Over the past two weeks, Israel has allowed in limited food supplies largely distributed by a new Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (new window) . More than 110 people were killed (new window) and hundreds of others injured near aid distribution sites by either Israeli fire or unknown gunmen. Sara Jabakhanji (new window) · CBC News
