On Monday, Paraguay opened its Israel embassy in Jerusalem being the third country to take the decision after Guatemala and the United States. Will Morocco denounce the Paraguayan authorities' sensitive move after they have supported Rabat's stance on the Western Sahara issue ? Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes inaugurated Monday, 21st of May, in Jerusalem his country's new Israel embassy in Jerusalem. The event comes as the United States and Guatemala moved their diplomatic representations from Tel Aviv to the holy city. Morocco condemns the American and Guatemalan decisions On the day the U.S. was inaugurating its Israel embassy in Jerusalem, King Mohammed VI sent a message to Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, rejecting «the US Administration's decision, given its grave repercussions on the peace process prospects». The sovereign reiterated his refusal of this unilateral act that runs counter the will that is continuously expressed by the international community which calls for refraining from any action that could alter Al Quds' established political status. King Mohammed VI reaffirmed his firm commitment to continue working with the US administration to provide a balanced stand that would restore trust and revive the peace process between the Palestinian and Israeli parties. As for Guatemala, which opened its Israel embassy in Jerusalem on May the 16th, Rabat has put off plans for a twin city partnership with Guatemala City. «Following Guatemala's decision to establish an embassy in Al Quds (Jerusalem), Rabat's city council unanimously decided to suspend the examination of a twinning project with Guatemala City in solidarity with the Palestinian people», Lahcen El Amrani, deputy mayor for the Justice and Development party told Reuters. What about Paraguay However, denouncing Paraguay's move might be a difficult choice for Morocco. In 2014, Asuncion announced that it had severed all relations with the Polisario, withdrawing recognition of «SADR». Since then, diplomatic relations between Morocco and Paraguay have taken a different turn with the South American nation supporting the Moroccan autonomy plan. Furthermore, the Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies adopted last month «a resolution, supporting the Moroccan autonomy initiative for the Sahara», as reported earlier this month by MAP news agency. On the other hand, Rabat announced in January 2016 that it is granting the Paraguayan government a million-dollar aid to manage the floods that hit the country. In February, Morocco has even offered Paraguay 700,000 dollars to develop the health sector. The Kingdom must therefore work on keeping Paraguay as an ally when it comes to the Western Sahara conflict. For the record, Panama and Ecuador, which have announced before that they have severed diplomatic ties with the separatist movement in November 2013 and June 2014 respectively, ended up restoring diplomatic relations with the Front.
