Fiji opens embassy in Jerusalem, becomes seventh country to have diplomatic headquarters in Israeli capital

Only seven countries have embassies in Jerusalem. (Photo: PMO Israel)

“A new embassy in Jerusalem, our eternal capital!,” Sa’ar said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu met his Fijian counterpart Rabuka, who is also the island archipelago’s Foreign Minister and thanked him “for his support and steadfast standing alongside Israel, and spoke with him about regional political and security issues.”

Most countries have embassies in Tel Aviv

Most countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel have their embassies in Tel Aviv, which is the Jewish state’s founding capital in 1948. Though Jerusalem became the capital of Israel in 1950, and both West Jerusalem and East Jerusalem were merged after the 1967 war, it was not internationally recognised. Some countries had maintained a small diplomatic presence in Jerusalem, in the form of consulates.

US was the first to open an Embassy in Jerusalem. (Photo: PMO Israel)

US moved embassy to Jerusalem in 2018

Things changed in December 2017, when the United States officially recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In May 2018, the US moved its embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, making it the first country to do so.

Since then, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, and Paraguay have also moved their embassies to Jerusalem. Argentina has also announced plans to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem next year.

“I will continue to strengthen Jerusalem’s standing as the capital of Israel. I will also continue working to open and relocate additional embassies to Jerusalem,” the Israeli Foreign Minister said.

No new consulates, only embassies in Jerusalem

In October 2024, the Israeli Knesset passed a law prohibiting the establishment of diplomatic headquarters in Jerusalem that are not embassies.

According to the law, no new consulates will be established in Jerusalem, while foreign governments will be encouraged to establish embassies there.

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