Israelis have reacted with fury to a decision by Paraguay’s new government to relocate the South American nation’s embassy in Israel back to Tel Aviv, less than four months after moving it to Jerusalem.
Paraguayan Foreign Minister Luis Alberto Castiglioni announced yesterday that his government, which took power last month, had decided to reverse the previous administration’s controversial decision.
The row began in December, when Donald Trump announced that the US would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, signalling that his administration recognises Jerusalem as the capital of Israel - a highly contentious issue in Israeli-Palestinian relations.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The decision by Paraguay’s then president Horacio Cartes to follow suit made his country “only the third country to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem, opening the mission on 21 May”, Fox News reports.
At a press conference announcing the planned reversal of Cartes’ policy, Castiglioni said: “Paraguay wants to contribute to an intensification of regional diplomatic efforts to achieve a broad, fair and lasting peace in the Middle East.”
In response, Israel has said that it will close its own embassy in Paraguayan capital Asuncion and recall its ambassador, The Guardian reports.
A statement by the Israeli government warned that Paraguay’s decision “will strain the ties between the countries”, and that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his regime viewed the “unusual decision” with “great severity”.
However, the decision was praised by the Palestinian Authority (PA) as “courageous”, during a press conference hours later.
The PA’s foreign minister, Riyad al-Malki, said that a Palestinian embassy would be opened in Asuncion “immediately”. Paraguay has set an “example for all countries in facing Israeli greed and attempts by the American administration to impose it on the world when it moved its embassy to Jerusalem in the so-called deal of the century”, he added.
-
The Week Unwrapped: Can musicians challenge Putin?Podcast Plus who were the ‘human hunters’ of the Bosnian war? And what should happen to captive penguins?
-
The week’s best photosIn Pictures A greedy gull, the fall of AI, and more
-
Sudoku hard: November 14, 2025The daily hard sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Israel jolted by ‘shocking’ settler violenceIN THE SPOTLIGHT A wave of brazen attacks on Palestinian communities in the West Bank has prompted a rare public outcry from Israeli officials
-
Why these Iraqi elections are so importantThe Explainer The US and Israel are increasingly pressuring Baghdad to tackle Iran-backed militants, while weakened Iran sees Iraq as a vital remaining ally
-
Israel arrests ex-IDF legal chief over abuse video leakSpeed Read Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi had resigned from her post last week
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Gaza ceasefire teeters as Netanyahu orders strikesSpeed Read Israel accused Hamas of firing on Israeli troops
-
Gaza’s reconstruction: the steps to rebuildingIn The Spotlight Even the initial rubble clearing in Gaza is likely to be fraught with difficulty and very slow
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
‘Extraordinary asymmetry’: the history of Israeli prisoner swapsIn The Spotlight Exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian detainees is the latest in a series of trades in which Israeli lives appear to count for more
