Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes walks next to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin upon his arrival for a meeting at the Israeli president’s residence in Jerusalem, ahead of the dedication ceremony of the embassy of Paraguay in Jerusalem, May 21, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun.

JNS.org – The White House issued a statement on Tuesday night praising Paraguay for relocating its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were in attendance at the May 21 inauguration, just five days after the Guatemalan embassy opening in Jerusalem, and a week after America became the first country to move its embassy to Jerusalem in an internationally televised event.

“We thank our Western Hemisphere partner for joining us in recognizing Israel’s capital and encouraging additional moves,” the statement said. “By being the first head of state to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to open an embassy there on May 14, 2018, President [Donald] Trump reprised the role President [Harry] Truman played 70 years ago when he was the first to recognize the State of Israel.”

The statement concluded that the United States hopes to welcome “many more of our friends and allies in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.”

The Palestinian Authority, on the other hand, blasted Paraguay for the move, which they called “illegal, illegitimate, an act of aggression against the Palestinian people and their rights, a violation of relevant United Nations resolutions and international law, and submission to American and Israeli dictates and bribes.”