While Brazil rejects Israeli envoy, it inaugurates Palestinian embassy

[Redheart]

While Brazil rejects Israeli envoy, it inaugurates Palestinian embassy - Israel News - Jerusalem Post


A new building housing the first Palestinian Authority embassy in the Western Hemisphere was inaugurated in Brasilia.

The PA’s envoy to Brazil, Ibrahim Alzeben, led Wednesday’s event, which was attended by leftwing Brazilian government officials, representatives of Arab countries and members of the local Arab community.

A week earlier, Alzeben attended the International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony held by the Jewish community in the Brazilian capital, saying “I could not be absent. It is very important to remember this date.”

The inauguration of the embassy comes as Brazil and Israel tussle over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nominee to fill the vacant Israeli envoy position.

The closeness of the new embassy to major Brazilian governmental buildings, including the Planalto Palace, Congress, Supreme Court and ministries, has been widely criticized due to security concerns.

“Diplomats and their vehicles cannot be checked. The embassy is a sovereign Hamas area now,” an unnamed military source told Brazil’s Veja magazine in an article published last year. “The site is strategic. Terrorists could access the whole governmental structure in a half an hour.”

Built on a piece of land that is more than 17,000 square feet and donated by the Brazilian government when it was led by former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the space is considered large in comparison to other diplomatic missions. Topped with a golden dome, the building resembles the famous mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas laid the cornerstone for the building in 2011.

Bilateral relations between Brazil and the Palestinians date back to 1975, when the Palestine Liberation Organization was authorized to appoint representatives in Brasilia. In 1993, Brazil authorized the opening of the Palestinian Special Delegation in Brasília, whose status was equated to embassy in 1998. In 2004, a representative office of Brazil in Ramallah was opened.

After Brazil recognized a state of Palestine in December 2010, the Special Delegation became the Embassy of Palestine.

Israel has not had an ambassador in Brasilia since December. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nomination of Dani Dayan, a former settler leader in the West Bank, remains unapproved by Rousseff since August and has set off a diplomatic row.

 

[Corzhens]

Clearly Palestine was first in the arms of Brazil so it is goodbye to Israel. Can a country not have 2 embassies? That is one for Israel and another for Palestine. So the situation is like China and Taiwan where China refuses to have an embassy in a country that treats Taiwan as a country. Truly there is so much division in the world by color, creed, and any other category like this ISIS thing with their religion. Well, maybe the earth is bound to be divided.

 

[Redheart]

In 2014 Israel called Brazil "a diplomatic dwarf" when they recalled their Ambassador to Israel to protest the Gaza invasion but apparently Israel learned nothing from that.

Israel isn't against having an embassy in Brazil they want Brazil to accept their envoy but Brazil will not have a right wing West Bank settler as Israel's envoy in the country since they recognize Palestine as a State.

Well, maybe the earth is bound to be divided.

Reminds me of the story about the City of Babel . . .

 

[djdefense]

No reason why they couldn't support both Israel and Palestine. But clearly, this is not a matter of principle for Brazil, and so they have every right to handle this however they like- even if it is undiplomatic to a certain degree.

 

[UnslaadKrosis]

This whole thing is foolish, in my honest opinion. Like @Corzhens said, the world is so much divided on the basis of little, often irrelevant things like which country recognises a city, or which country follows a particular type of religion. (isn't religion a personal thing, and not something to shove down others throats?) And this clearly shows that how much of a selfish and small-minded we are as a species.

Anyways, what Brazil did is certainly not that diplomatic, because as others have said, why not have embassy for both states? It's not like you have to support one of them.

 

[Corzhens]

Let me segue to China's case. I had read and still reading that China is bullying their allies into being exclusive with embassies. That is their approach in erasing Taiwan from the UN and the world as a legitimate country. It is obvious that the direction of China is to make the world recognize Taiwan as a province of China. With shivers, which country is next? Is it the Philippines?

 

[djdefense]

Well, that sort of thing is done by all powerful countries. China is not the only one. The US kept a lot of European countries away from the China 's new development bank - a few countries still joined. The Russians ensured that certain neighboring countries maintain an exclusive trade relationship with Russia. In fact, what is the conflict in Syria, if not an attempt by Russia to stall pipelines being laid from Oman to Turkey via Syria. If that pipeline project completes, Russia won't be able to "leverage" its control over oil supplies.