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The Czech Republic is close to announcing the relocation of its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Ynet learned late Satur day. A senior Czech official recently informed an Israeli counterpart that the Czech government has made a decision to move the embassy in the near future.
The move follows a request by U.S. President Donald Trump, who transferred the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem in 2018 during his term. That same year, the Czech Republic opened offices in Jerusalem for cultural and economic affairs, later adding a consular section.
The Czech Republic is considered one of Israel’s closest allies in Europe. Since the October 7 Hamas attack, it has consistently backed Israel and has blocked anti-Israel initiatives in the European Union alongside Hungary, where foreign and security policy decisions require unanimous consent among all 27 member states.
Israel hopes that following the Czech move, Hungary will follow suit. During Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to Budapest, Hungarian officials signaled they would prefer not to be the first EU country to take such a step. While Hungary has previously expressed willingness to relocate its embassy, it said it was waiting for the right moment.
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The topic was discussed during Netanyahu’s meetings with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and is expected to come up again in Sunday’s meeting between Netanyahu and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. On Thursday, Hungary gave Israel a diplomatic boost by withdrawing from the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
To date, six countries have embassies in Jerusalem: the U.S., Guatemala, Kosovo, Honduras, Papua New Guinea and Paraguay. Argentina’s President Javier Milei is expected to announce a similar move by the end of the year, although domestic political challenges have delayed the decision.
Fiji announced in February that it would open an embassy in Israel, likely becoming the seventh country to do so in Jerusalem. Czechia is poised to be the eighth, with Hungary potentially becoming the ninth.