At AIPAC Conference, Guatemalan Prez Confirms Jerusalem Embassy Move

The annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee kicked off to much fanfare, with the highlight for many being Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales’ confirmation that his country’s embassy will be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 16; that is, two days after the United States relocates its mission to the holy city. Not surprisingly, Guatemala’s leader received a warm reception from the 18,000-strong crowd, after he announced in December that he would follow Washington’s lead. “I would like to thank President [Donald] Trump for paving the way, his courageous decision has encouraged us to do what is right,” Morales affirmed Sunday at the powerful pro-Israel lobby’s summit. Also headlining the event’s first day were Israeli Leader of the Opposition Avi Gabbay, whose main message was that the Jewish state, in order to ensure its long-term security, needs to separate from the Palestinians by forging a peace agreement based on the two-state solution; and Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon, who slammed the UN’s anti-Israel bias and failure to take concrete steps to curtail Iran’s adventurism in the Middle East—manifest in Tehran’s involvement in the wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen as well as its power over Lebanon which is projected through its Hizbullah proxy. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is slated to address the AIPAC gathering on Monday following a meeting at the White House with President Trump.