JERUSALEM: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday that Samoa will open an embassy in Jerusalem this year, a rare move as most foreign diplomatic missions to Israel are located in Tel Aviv.
Samoa will become the eighth country to open its mission in Jerusalem, and the third from the Pacific region after Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
“Just spoke with the Prime Minister of Samoa, La’auli Leuatea Schmidt. I thanked him for his moral decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem in 2026,” Saar wrote on X.
“I also expressed our appreciation for Samoa’s consistent support for Israel in the multilateral arena,” he said, adding that he had invited the prime minister to visit Israel.
The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel annexed east Jerusalem after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, in a move not recognized by the international community.
The Israeli government has a formal policy of offering incentives to countries willing to open embassies in Jerusalem, including financial support for relocation and setup costs.
This comes from a government-backed package aimed at encouraging diplomatic missions to the city. For some Pacific states, such support helps cover what would otherwise be a significant diplomatic expense.
Earlier this week, Schmidt said he instructed Samoa’s foreign ministry to begin preparations for the embassy’s opening by the end of the year, according to a recording of the speech posted on the Samoan government’s Facebook page.
In the case of small states like Samoa, diplomatic backing from a globally connected country like Israel can help in areas like development assistance, trade opportunities, training programs and technical cooperation.
Another Pacific island state, Fiji, inaugurated an embassy in Jerusalem in September.
The only other countries to have their diplomatic missions in Jerusalem are the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea and Paraguay.
The dispute over Jerusalem’s status and the presence of foreign embassies was reignited when US President Donald Trump broke with decades of international consensus and recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in his first term.
He opened his embassy there in 2018, sparking Palestinian anger and international condemnation.
Israel says Samoa to open embassy in Jerusalem
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Israel says Samoa to open embassy in Jerusalem
- Samoa will become the eighth country to open its mission in Jerusalem, and the third from the Pacific region after Fiji and Papua New Guinea
Italy protests, recalls ambassador to Switzerland after New Year’s bar fire suspect released
- Meloni overnight called Moretti’s release “an affront to the memory of the victims”
- Six of those killed in the bar blaze were Italian as were 10 of the injured
ROME: Italy formally protested on Saturday the release on bail of the owner of a Swiss bar engulfed in a deadly New Year’s Day fire and recalled its ambassador to Switzerland, as the court’s decision came under criticism in both countries.
Jacques Moretti and his wife Jessica, owners of Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, are under investigation for negligent homicide and other crimes linked to the blaze that killed 40 people and injured more than 100, many of them teenagers.
Jacques Moretti was detained on January 9 but released on bail on Friday.
PM MELONI CALLS DECISION ‘AN INSULT’ TO VICTIMS’ FAMILIES
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni overnight called Moretti’s release “an affront to the memory of the victims ... and an insult to their families.”
Six of those killed in the bar blaze were Italian as were 10 of the injured.
A government statement on Saturday said Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani instructed Italy’s ambassador to immediately contact Beatrice Pilloud, the chief prosecutor in Switzerland’s Valais canton, to convey Italy’s “strong indignation” over Moretti’s release.
It added that the court had taken the decision despite the seriousness of the alleged crime, the risk of flight and the possibility of evidence being compromised.
“The whole of Italy is clamouring for truth and justice, and is calling for respectful measures to be taken in the wake of this disaster, which take full account of the suffering and expectations of the families,” the statement said.
Meloni and Tajani also ordered Ambassador Gian Lorenzo Cornado to return to Rome to determine what further action to take, it said.
Swiss prosecutor Pilloud confirmed to Swiss news agency Keystone SDA that she had been contacted by the Italian ambassador but explained that a separate court had ordered Moretti’s release.
“I do not wish to be responsible for a diplomatic incident between our two countries. I will not give in to any possible pressure from the Italian authorities, which is why I advised the ambassador to address himself to the Swiss political authorities,” she said.
A Swiss Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
’ANOTHER SLAP’, TEEN VICTIM’S FATHER SAYS OF RELEASE
Moretti was released under a bail arrangement that included a 200,000 Swiss franc ($256,377) payment and an order to report daily to a police station.
Lawyers for the victims of the fire and their families said they were struggling to understand the court order, adding that their clients were concerned about evidence disappearing.
“It is another slap on a wound that will never heal,” Andrea Costanzo, whose 16-year-old daughter Chiara died in the fire, said in comments published in Italian newspapers on Saturday.
The Morettis have both expressed grief over the tragedy and said they would cooperate with prosecutors.
In a statement following Jacques Moretti’s release, their lawyers said they would “continue to comply with all requests from the authorities.”
