(ANSA-AFP) - JERUSALEM, FEB 1 - Israel and Kosovo established
diplomatic ties on Monday, with the Muslim-majority territory
recognising Jerusalem as the Jewish state's capital, putting it
at odds with the rest of the Islamic world. In a ceremony held
over Zoom in Jerusalem and Pristina, Israeli Foreign Minister
Gabi Ashkenazi and his counterpart from Kosovo Meliza Haradinaj
Stublla signed a joint declaration establishing ties. Ashkenazi
said he had approved Kosovo's "formal request to open an embassy
in Jerusalem." Israel last year inked a series of deals brokered
by former US president Donald Trump to establish diplomatic
relations with Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates,
Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. Those agreements, known collectively
as the Abraham Accords, triggered criticism in many
majority-Muslim countries. But the Arab parties to the Abraham
Accords have all maintained that their diplomatic missions in
Israel will be in Tel Aviv. That position is in line with global
consensus against recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital
until the Palestinian conflict is resolved. In September, Trump
announced at a summit originally organised to strike a deal
between Kosovo and its former war foe Serbia that Kosovo and the
Jewish state would establish diplomatic ties. But the most
eye-catching part of the summit was an announcement by Kosovo
that it would mutually recognise Israel, and Serbia saying it
would follow Washington's lead in moving its embassy to
Jerusalem. So far, however, Serbia has failed to honour its
pledge, with some officials claiming the deal was non-binding.
Kosovo also said it was ready to set up its Israel mission in
Jerusalem, in exchange for Israel's recognition, as it seeks to
further legitimise its 2008 declaration of independence from
Serbia and statehood. (ANSA-AFP).
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