The Arab community in Romania has been haranguing Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah to take urgent action to convince Romania to abandon its decision to transfer its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Ma’an reported Sunday morning.
Romania was among the 35 countries that abstained at the UN General Assembly vote Thursday condemning President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Liviu Dragnea, leader of Romania’s Social Democratic Party and President of the Chamber of Deputies, announced last week: “We have to take the United States as an example and move our embassy in Israel.”
“There are practical issues,” Dragnea told reporters in Bucharest, “All the central institutions in Israel are in Jerusalem, ambassadors and embassy staff are going from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. I think we should seriously consider moving the Romanian embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.”
The Romanian embassy in Israel told Israel Hayom that the plan is real, although voices in the Romanian Senate have suggested the process should go through the foreign office.
Romanian media attributed Dragnea’s declaration to the Romanian government’s fear of the Trump administration, which has threatened to revoke economic support from countries that supported the UN resolution. The Romanians find themselves between the rock and the hard place, seeing as their abstention Thursday did not win them many friends at the EU.
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN after Trump’s declaration that “many countries are ready to move their embassy to Jerusalem,” including Romania.
The Czech Republic and the Philippines have announced their intent to move their embassies to Jerusalem.