ByLAHAV HARKOV

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett dedicated the new Embassy of Honduras in Jerusalem on Thursday.

Bennett welcomed Hernandez to “our eternal capital, Jerusalem” and called him a true friend of Israel.

“The Jewish people have a long memory, and you will be written in the pages of history as someone who took a courageous action and the right action for the State of Israel. Thank you,” Bennett said.

Honduras is the fourth country to open an embassy in Jerusalem, after the US, Guatemala and Kosovo. In the past year, Serbia, the Dominican Republic and Malawi said they would follow. Hungary and the Czech Republic have diplomatic offices in Jerusalem, and several countries have trade offices in the capital.

Israel plans to open an embassy in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, as well.

Hernandez, a graduate of Israel's international leadership development program MASHAV, has long been a strong supporter of Israel. He is a Catholic, but has the support of his country's sizable Evangelical Christian population.

Bennett thanked Hernandez for “Honduras standing with Israel consistently in international organizations, even when it is not always popular and even when it has a cost. That is a sign of friendship: the willingness to take action even when it has a price.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez inaugurating the Honduran Embassy in Jerusalem, June 24, 2021.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez inaugurating the Honduran Embassy in Jerusalem, June 24, 2021. (Credit: KOBI GIDEON/GPO)

“I want to thank you and the public in Honduras for this support,” he stated. “We saw it recently in Operation Guardian of the Walls, when the Hamas terrorist organization shot thousands of rockets at Israeli civilians while cynically using the Gaza population – women, children and adults – as human shields."

Bennett called Hamas’s actions a “double war crime,” because they also target Israeli civilians.

Bennett spoke of the cooperation between their countries in trade, agriculture, water technology, and in diplomatic and security matters, and said they agreed to cooperate in the areas of hi-tech and cybersecurity.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and his Honduran counterpart Lisandro Rosales signed memoranda of understanding to expand cooperation between the countries in the areas of agriculture, water use, health, education and innovation, as well as technical agreements relating to the opening of embassies.
Also on Thursday, Bennett spoke with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and invited him to visit Israel.
 
"We agreed to focus on cooperation in the field of hi-tech and to explore the possibility for negotiations regarding a free trade agreement between our countries," Bennett wrote on Twitter. "We will continue to strengthen Israel’s position in the world."