Jerusalem Embassy Departures May Encourage Terror In Israel
Ryan R. Jones - All Headline News Middle East Correspondent Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - Israel's Foreign Ministry warned Sunday that the departure of the last two foreign embassies from Jerusalem could encourage terrorism by signaling that recent violence against the Jewish state had achieved political goals. Since a UN-imposed ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect on August 14, both Costa Rica and El Salvador have announced their intention to move their respective embassies to the coastal city of Tel Aviv. The Central American nations were the last to maintain embassies in the Israeli capital, after a 1981 UN resolution blasting Israel's official reunification of Jerusalem resulted in the departure of all foreign diplomatic missions from the city. Their leaders now say present circumstances compel them to move the embassies as they seek better relations with the Arab world. Israel has refrained from criticizing either Costa Rica or El Salvador over their decisions, but cautioned that in the long run the results would be negative. An official statement from the Foreign Ministry read: "This step, particularly at this time, can contribute neither to peace, the war on terror and violence, nor the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, as the government of El Salvador claims, but rather will play into the hands of terrorist elements which oppose the implementation of the resolution, and who m |
