Paraguayan president visits Israel to reopen embassy in Jerusalem

Paraguayan President Santiago Peña is visiting Israel to express his support for the Jewish state in its war against terrorism and on the occasion of the reopening of his country's embassy in Jerusalem, an event that will take place this Thursday.

As part of his visit to Israel, Peña met with senior officials, such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, and participated in a special session in his honor at the Knesset (the Israeli parliament), where he gave an emotional speech in which he said that the victims of Oct. 7 have not been forgotten and called the terrorists who perpetrated the massacre "cowards."

"Without an embassy in Jerusalem, diplomatic relations with Israel do not have a real heart; do not have a real soul. With this move, our historic friendship will have a palpitating heart. ... I sincerely hope it will inspire other countries to do the same," expressed the Paraguayan president.

Peña also remarked that Paraguay has always considered Israel a brother nation and that just when the world seems to want to turn its back on it, his country will never abandon the Jewish state.

Netanyahu: ‘History will remember those who defended Israel's rights in its difficult times’

Netanyahu addressed the Paraguayan president and told him that "your important visit in the midst of the existential war we are waging on seven fronts against those who seek our destruction deserves special recognition."

"History will remember those who defended Israel's rights in its difficult times," the Israeli prime minister remarked. He added: "I thank you for standing on the side of truth."

The second move of Paraguay's embassy to Jerusalem

This is the second time that Paraguay has moved its embassy to Jerusalem, since in May 2018 then-President Horacio Cartés opened the Paraguayan representation in the Israeli capital after the Trump administration did the same days before.

However, in September of that same year, Mario Abdo Benítez, who had assumed the presidency of Paraguay a month earlier, moved the embassy back to Tel Aviv.