Honduras to move Israel embassy to Jerusalem within months

Honduras announced Sunday that it hoped to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem before the end of the year, putting an end to its policy of neutrality in the face of Middle East conflict.

Israel will also open a diplomatic office in Tegucigalpa, Honduras's capital city.

"I have just talked to Prime Minister Netanyahu to strengthen our strategic alliance and agree on the opening of embassies in Tegucigalpa and Jerusalem, respectively," Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez said on Twitter.

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"We hope to take this historic step before the end of the year, as long as the pandemic allows," he wrote.

Hernandez last year began a process of breaking with his country's long-held policy of neutrality in the face of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hernandez opened a commercial headquarters in Jerusalem in September 2019 as an extension of the Honduran embassy in Tel Aviv.

Israel opened a representative office in Tegucigalpa last month.

"Honduras recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and we are confident that this recognition will be of great blessing and mutual benefit," Hernandez said when the office was opened.

Honduras has the second-largest population of Palestinians in Latin America, after Chile.