Miley gets emotional at the Western Wall and promises to move the Argentine embassy to Jerusalem

The Argentine President is on a three-day visit to the country, on his second international trip since taking office last December. Javier MileyThis was announced on Tuesday, June 6, during a visit to Israel He intends to move his country's embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Milley, who was received by Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz on the tarmac of Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, announced, “My plan is to move the embassy to West Jerusalem.”

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the announcement, stressing that the Argentine Prime Minister “kept his promises” in this area.

Condemning Hamas

Javier Miley began an official visit to Israel on Tuesday, his first trip abroad since taking office in December. Last month, he was at the Davos Forum in Switzerland.

In his first statements upon his arrival in the country, he took the opportunity to condemn Hamas attacks and defend Israel's “self-defense,” referring to the military offensive against the extremist Islamist group in the Gaza Strip, which lasted nearly four months. .

The head of Israeli diplomacy welcomed him and thanked him for his support for the Jewish people and the State of Israel, as well as for the plan for the future relocation of the Argentine embassy.

Katz said Miley is a person of values ​​who is “committed to the truth,” according to a statement issued by his office.

When Israel unilaterally annexed the eastern half of Jerusalem – occupied since 1967 – the international community moved its embassies to Tel Aviv in protest of the move, as the eastern part of the city was scheduled to be the capital of the future Palestinian state.

However, since former US President Donald Trump reopened the US diplomatic representation in Jerusalem in 2018, other countries such as Honduras, Guatemala and Kosovo have followed suit. Other countries, such as Hungary or Argentina, have expressed their intention to do the same.

Former President Jair Bolsonaro also said that he would move the Brazilian embassy to Jerusalem, but he did not fulfill his promise.

Wall of lamentation

Also on Tuesday, the Argentine visited the Wailing Wall and became emotional in several moments. Miley has become very close to Judaism in recent months, although it remains unclear whether he publicly embraces the religion. Argentina is home to the largest Jewish community in Latin America.

Miley also planned meetings with business leaders and rabbis, and a visit to the Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem, and a kibbutz attacked by Hamas commandos, which on October 7 launched a surprise attack in southern Israel that killed 1,160 people.

Miley met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday, and is scheduled to meet on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

MD (Losa, AFP, OTS)