DR Congo to move Israeli embassy to Tel Aviv, Netanyahu says

If the move goes ahead, DR Congo will exit a small group of countries with embassies in the disputed city of Jerusalem.

The Democratic Republic of Congo will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday.

Netanyahu, who met Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi during the United Nations General Assembly, announced in a statement that Israel would also be opening an embassy in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Only a handful of countries have their embassies in Jerusalem, with most others maintaining their diplomatic representation in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, Israel’s main economic hub. Some of those still in Jerusalem include the United States, Guatemala and Honduras.

Earlier this month, the Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea opened its embassy in West Jerusalem.

Israel considers Jerusalem its eternal and indivisible capital and wants all embassies based there. However, most of the world does not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the entire city, believing its status should be resolved in negotiations.

Palestinians also want the capital of their independent state to be in the city’s eastern sector, which Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War.