President Milei Announces Argentina Will Move Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem Next Year

Argentine President Javier Milei delivered an impassioned address to Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on Wednesday, in which he announced that Argentina would relocate its embassy to Jerusalem next year. He also declared his country’s full support for Israel’s war against Hamas and accused much of the international community of siding with terrorists.

“I am proud to announce before you that in 2026 we will make effective the move of our embassy to the city of west Jerusalem,” Milei declared. 

Milei said Argentina stood firmly with Israel at a time when, in his view, much of the international community had failed to do so. “Argentina stands by you in these difficult days. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about a large part of the international community that is being manipulated by terrorists and turning victims into perpetrators,” he said.

“How does the world allow a murderous terrorist organization to continue to hold innocent civilians hostage?” Milei asked, referring to the dozens of captives still being held in Gaza following the Hamas-led invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. “When both sides are good and evil, there is no moral equality here.”

Milei also attacked climate activist Greta Thunberg, who was detained and deported by Israel after she attempted to break the Gaza blockade by sea. “She became a hired gun for a bit of media attention, claiming that she was kidnapped when there are really hostages in subhuman conditions in Gaza,” he said.

Milei’s three-day visit to Israel – the longest leg of a ten-day foreign tour – began with a prayer at the Western Wall and included meetings with Israeli leaders, most notably Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who paused his corruption trial earlier in the day to host the Argentine leader. 

“Javier, you are a true friend,” Netanyahu said, speaking hoarsely. “We both woke up with sore throats. The question is, who infected whom? But we also ‘infect’ one another with friendship — both personally and between our nations.”

“For 20 months, we have been fighting human monsters,” Netanyahu said. “You said clearly: ‘We stand with you in the fight against the forces of darkness.’ This is a just war like no other. Terror seeks to drag us back to the darkness of the Middle Ages, and we will fight it with all our might.”

Milei framed his support for Israel within a broader critique of global threats to democratic societies. “Whether we like it or not, the West is being tested. Various forms of barbaric tyranny are attacking us and have no relation to democracy,” he said.

Arab lawmakers did not attend Milei’s Knesset address. 

During the visit, Milei met with survivors of Hamas captivity and relatives of Argentine hostages still being held in Gaza. Twenty-seven Argentine nationals were murdered on Oct. 7, 2023, and a further 21 were taken hostage, including Shiri Bibas and her two toddler sons, Ariel and Kfir, all of whom were murdered in captivity. 

“We continue to demand the unconditional return of the four Argentines who are still held captive – Eitan Horn, Ariel and David Cunio, and Lior Rudaeff – and all those kidnapped and still held by the terrorist organization Hamas,” Milei said during a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the president’s residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

Herzog expressed the country’s admiration for Milei, saying, “During your presidency, my friend Milei, our relations have reached new heights – and will continue to rise. You love Israel – and we love you.”

A rocket fired by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist group in Yemen on Tuesday evening triggered air raid sirens across Israel, sending millions – including Milei in his Jerusalem hotel – into shelters. The incident prompted him to write on X: “I strongly recommend that when you react to what happens in Israel, remember what it’s like to live in this situation. I witnessed this from the hotel where I’m staying in Jerusalem.”

The following day, Milei canceled a planned tour of the City of David archaeological site due to illness. His itinerary was expected to conclude Thursday with a return visit to the Western Wall.

Milei was also expected to unveil plans for nonstop flights connecting Buenos Aires and Tel Aviv, which would mark the first direct air link between the two countries since Israeli agents apprehended Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1960. 

Since taking office in December, Milei has made Israel a focal point of his foreign policy and has visited the Jewish state twice in as many years. He pledged to move Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem during his earlier visit.

The embassy move would place Argentina in alignment with the United States and five other countries: Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Paraguay, and Papua New Guinea, all of which moved their embassies from Tel Aviv. The Argentine embassy is currently located in Herzliya, a coastal city to the north of Tel Aviv.

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