Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed gratitude to Argentine President-elect Javier Milei for his support during the Gaza war and for announcing the relocation of Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem. The invitation was extended in a phone conversation on December 4, during which Prime Minister Netanyahu congratulated Mr. Milei on his election victory. He also praised the President-elect as “a true friend of the Jewish people.”
In addition to thanking Mr. Milei for his declared intention to move the Argentinian Embassy to Jerusalem, Prime Minister Netanyahu extended an invitation to the president-elect to visit Israel.
Mr. Milei, a libertarian economist, rock star, and national lawmaker, won Argentina’s election by a landslide, securing over 55.7 percent of the vote. He expressed his intention to move the embassy during his election campaign in November.
While Israel considers Jerusalem its eternal and indivisible capital and wants all embassies based there, most of the world does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the entire city. Palestinians want the capital of an independent state of theirs to be in the city’s eastern sector, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move never recognized internationally.
The Israel-Hamas war was triggered by Hamas’ unprecedented terror attack on Oct. 7. The war resumed on Dec. 1 after a weeklong truce brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, during which Hamas freed 110 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Throughout the election campaign, Mr. Milei vowed to consider drastic measures to address Argentina’s critical situation, while putting an end to the country’s political caste, among other pledges. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and former President Trump also offered congratulations to Mr. Milei.