Bolsonaro confirms he will transfer the Brazilian embassy to Jerusalem

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro confirmed on Thursday in a televised interview his determination to transfer the Brazilian embassy to Israel to Jerusalem and downplayed the risk of retaliation by Arab countries.

Speaking to the SBT channel during his first TV interview since his inauguration on January 1, the far-right president recalled that he had agreed on the transfer of the embassy during his talks with the Prime Minister. Israeli Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who came to Brazil to attend his investiture.

"As the Israeli Prime Minister said, the decision is made, it only remains to be determined when it will be implemented," Bolsonaro said in his interview.

Mr. Bolsonaro announced in November, the day after his election, that he intended to transfer the Brazilian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, following the example of President Donald Trump who transferred the United States Embassy to Jerusalem. in May 2018.

His announcement had raised many objections including among some of his allies. Mr. Bolsonaro then seemed to be backing up, stating that the transfer "had not been decided yet". He has just confirmed his first announcement.

The new Brazilian president downplayed in his interview the risk that this transfer of the embassy provokes commercial retaliation from the Arab countries in solidarity with the Palestinians. These countries are particularly important buyers of Brazilian meat.

"A large part of the Arab world is aligned or aligned with the United States, and this issue of Palestine tires people in much of the Arab world," Bolsonaro argued.

Israel sees the entire city of Jerusalem as its capital, while Palestinians want to make East Jerusalem the capital of the state they aspire to.

Until now, Brazil has been following the line of most of the international community, which wants the final status of Jerusalem to be negotiated by both parties and that embassies do not settle there until an agreement is reached. was not found. ...