Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday that he could not exclude the possibility of opening a trade office in Jerusalem.
“It took [US President Donald] Trump nine months to resolve the issue, to provide a final response concerning the embassy. Perhaps, we will open a trade office in Jerusalem”, Bolsonaro said, as quoted by Enlace Judio news portal.
Brazil’s president is scheduled to pay a visit to Israel on 31 March — 3 April. Representatives of a number of Brazilian agencies express concern over the possible moving of the embassy, as this could seriously worsen the country’s relations with the Arab world.
Both Israel and Palestine see Jerusalem as their capital, and the status of the holy city has long been regarded as a matter that must be resolved through a Palestinian-Israeli peace process.
In May, the United States decided to relocate its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, provoking a huge backlash in Palestine, the Arab world and number of other nations opposing any unilateral moves with regard to the holy city’s status.