A ceremony marking Kosovo’s embassy opening will be held in central Jerusalem on Monday, reported Israel Hayom.
Kosovo, with the Muslim-majority territory, is set to become the third country to open an embassy in Jerusalem. Senior diplomats from both countries will attend the event.
Israel and Kosovo established diplomatic ties in early February, and officials signed joint declarations separately in Jerusalem and Pristina.
Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla and its Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi took part in the virtual event, which was the first diplomatic relationship to be established over Zoom.
Kosovo’s formal request to open an embassy in Jerusalem was also approved then.
In September, former US President Donald Trump announced at a summit originally organized to strike a deal between Kosovo and Serbia that Kosovo and Israel would establish diplomatic ties.
But the most standout part of the summit was an announcement by Kosovo that it would mutually recognize Israel, and Serbia saying it would follow Washington’s lead in moving its embassy to Jerusalem.
In exchange for setting up its mission in Jerusalem, Kosovo gets recognition from Israel, as it seeks to further legitimize its 2008 declaration of independence from its former war foe Serbia.
The new tie between Israel and Kosovo has outraged Serbia, which has refused to recognize Kosovo’s declaration of independence.
The European Union had earlier voiced regret at Kosovo’s decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem, noting that it diverged from the EU position on Jerusalem.
All embassies of the EU countries in Israel, as well as the EU delegation, are located in Tel Aviv, based on the corresponding UN Security Council resolutions and European Council decisions, it explained.
On Thursday, the Czech Republic opened a diplomatic office in Jerusalem. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and Ashkenazi attended the inauguration ceremony.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called Prague’s move “a blatant attack on the Palestinian people and their rights, a flagrant violation of international law,” and said it would harm peace prospects.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed during a trilateral summit meeting with Babis and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban the steps taken by both countries to open up official missions in Jerusalem.
“We appreciate the fact that they’ve opened up missions in Jerusalem and also that they assist us on the international level as true friends do,” he said.
