Arab League Issues Warning on Brazil’s Jerusalem Trade Office

(Bloomberg) -- The Arab League condemned Brazil for the recent opening of a trade office in Jerusalem and warned of possible economic consequences if the South American nation takes further steps toward recognizing the holy city as Israel’s capital.

After a meeting Thursday in Cairo proposed by the Palestinian Authority, the 22 members of the league said in a joint statement that Brazil has committed a “flagrant violation” of international law and a unilateral action that endorses Israeli occupation.

Arab countries are willing to take “political, diplomatic and economic measures” if Brazil transfers its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, according to the statement. The league expressed “deep regret” about Brazil’s current foreign policy, which contrasts with previous’ governments more balanced stance on the Middle East.

Ibrahim Alzeben, the Palestinian ambassador to Brazil, said in an interview he considers Brazil “a friend of Palestine and a partner of the Arab World” and hopes the South American nation will hear the Arab League’s statement.

Brazil opened its Jerusalem trade office last week in a ceremony with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. The office was an intermediate solution found by the government after Bolsonaro’s campaign pledge to transfer the embassy to Jerusalem was met with strong backlash from its trading partners in the Middle East.

Read More: Brazil to Move Embassy to Jerusalem by 2020, Netanyahu Says

Yet, after last week’s ceremony, Senator Eduardo Bolsonaro, the president’s son, said in a Twitter post the office was a first step before the Brazilian embassy is transferred to Jerusalem next year.

In a statement ahead of Thursday’s meeting, Brazil’s foreign affairs ministry cited Bolsonaro’s recent visit to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar as proof that the South American nation continues to have excellent relations with Arab countries. The trade office in Jerusalem won’t harm those ties, it said in a statement.

Brazil exported $10.3 billion to the 22 nations that comprise the Arab League between January and October, an increase of about 11% from the same period a year earlier.

To contact the reporter on this story: Samy Adghirni in Brasilia Newsroom at sadghirni@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Walter Brandimarte at wbrandimarte@bloomberg.net, Julia Leite

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