DR Congo joins countries pledging embassy move to Jerusalem

The announcement revives a 2023 committedness by President Tshisekedi and comes arsenic respective governments awesome plans to deepen diplomatic ties with Israel.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reiterated its determination to determination its embassy successful Israel to Jerusalem, becoming the latest state to denote specified plans.

Following a sojourn to Israel by President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi, some countries said successful a connection connected Thursday that they would instrumentality steps towards “the relocation of the embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem”, AFP quality bureau reported.

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The program dates backmost to September 2023, erstwhile Tshisekedi met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu astatine the United Nations General Assembly successful New York.

In 2020, the DRC president announced plans to name an ambassador to Israel aft 2 decades and found an economical conception of the embassy successful Jerusalem portion the embassy remained successful Tel Aviv.

The narration has since expanded. Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited the DRC capital, Kinshasa, successful November. Tshisekedi has spoken warmly astir Israel for years, saying his enactment is driven by his Christian faith. He has besides been anxious for enactment from the United States, which has progressively pressured Rwanda implicit equipped rebel advances successful the DRC.

Why does the embassy determination matter?

The announcement comes weeks aft Colombia’s caller hard-right president, Abelardo de la Espriella, besides announced that helium would determination his country’s embassy to Jerusalem, a crisp displacement from his leftist predecessor who criticised Israel implicit its genocidal warfare connected Gaza.

The United States moved its embassy to Jerusalem successful 2018 during President Donald Trump’s archetypal term. Fiji, Guatemala, Honduras, Papua New Guinea and Paraguay person followed.

Kosovo and Somaliland, which are not UN subordinate states, besides support missions they see embassies successful the city.

Jewish settlers atop buildings successful Jerusalem’s Old City connected October 9, 2025 [Gazi Samad/Anadolu via Getty Images]

Most countries that person diplomatic relations with Israel support their embassies successful the Tel Aviv area, maintaining that Jerusalem’s last presumption should beryllium determined done negotiations betwixt Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel considers the full metropolis its superior and has encouraged overseas governments to found embassies there. Palestinians privation occupied East Jerusalem to service arsenic the superior of a aboriginal Palestinian state.

The UN Security Council has rejected measures seeking to change the presumption of Jerusalem and has called connected countries not to found diplomatic missions there.