Brazil president visits Israel amid embassy move controversy

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro landed in Israel on Sunday for an official visit, where he was expected to announce whether he will relocate his country's embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Bolsonaro was welcomed at the Ben Gurion Airport with an official ceremony, attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara.

In a statement at the airport, Netanyahu said the visit heralds a "climax" in the relations between the two countries.

"We are making history, together," he said.

During his four-day trip, the far-right Brazilian president will meet with Netanyahu and sign bilateral agreements. The two leaders are scheduled to deliver joint statements in the evening.

The president's itinerary also includes a visit to the Western Wall, known in Islam as the Buraq Wall, a controversial holy site in East Jerusalem's Old City, accompanied by Netanyahu, as well as an array of several military forces.

The visit follows Netanyahu's trip to Brazil last December, during which he attended Bolsonaro's inauguration ceremony and held a personal meeting with the Brazilian president.

Bolsonaro has promised several times he will relocate the Brazilian embassy to Jerusalem, a move that is expected to trigger more tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.

But Israeli media said Bolsonaro may announce the opening of a foreign trade representation office in Jerusalem rather than the relocations of the embassy during the visit.

Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, and annexed it shortly afterwards, claiming it part of its "indivisible capital," while the Palestinians view East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Most of the international community also view East Jerusalem as an occupied Palestinian territory.

In December 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly acknowledged Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocated his country's embassy to the city in May of 2018, a move that has sparked waves of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)