Embassy closure: Israel has not cut ties with Paraguay – FM

Israel said on Thursday the decision to close its Embassy in Paraguay does not mean it has broken off all ties to the South American Nation.

The action amounts to a diplomatic downgrade and another Israeli embassy on the continent will take over the duties of the embassy in Asuncion, a source in Jerusalem said.

Israel announced on Wednesday that it was shuttering its embassy after Paraguay reversed its nearly four-month old decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The Foreign Ministry in Asuncion said the change of plan was due to concerns that the relocation to Jerusalem would have a negative impact on peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Luis Castiglioni, who became Paraguay’s foreign minister after President Mario Abdo Benitez was sworn into power in August.

He said that the embassy’s decision had been taken unilaterally and without proper consultation.

Paraguay announced in May it was following the United States and Guatemala in moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The move by Washington was denounced by much of the world as prejudicing possible peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, who claimed the eastern half of Jerusalem for their future capital.