CAIRO, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League (AL) welcomed on Thursday Paraguay's decision to return its Israeli embassy from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.
"Paraguay's decision is a step on the right track that meets the international legitimacy resolutions," Saeed Abu Ali, AL assistant secretary general for the occupied Palestinian and Arab lands said.
Less than a month after Paraguay's new President, Mario Abdo Benitez, was sworn in, the country decided to move back its Israeli embassy, reversing a May decision by former President Horacio Cartes.
The move was announced by the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, which said that "Paraguay wants to contribute to an intensification of regional diplomatic efforts to achieve a broad, fair and lasting peace in the Middle East."
Shortly later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Israeli Foreign Ministry to repatriate Israeli envoy to Paraguay and close the embassy.
Paraguay believes the status of Jerusalem should be negotiated between the concerned parties, Abu Ali said.
The United States, Guatemala and Paraguay moved their embassies to Jerusalem in May.
Israel seized East Jerusalem, together with the rest of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Middle East war. It annexed East Jerusalem shortly later, claiming it as part of its "indivisible capital," in a move which was never recognized internationally.
On Dec. 16, 2017, Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move that triggered escalating tension and a wave of outcry in the region.
