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MANILA: The Philippines on Wednesday denied reports it is considering moving its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
In a message sent to Arab News, Robespierre Bolivar, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson, said that the Philippines supported the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“The Philippines has always supported the policy of two states for two peoples as a long-term solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, consistent with our vote in favor of the Partition Plan for Palestine in the United Nations in 1947,” Bolivar said.
Reports from Israel earlier this month claimed that President Rodrigo Duterte had sent a message that he intended to move the country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This was after US President Donald Trump publicly recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced plans to move the US Embassy there.
The reports claimed that, along with the Philippines, other were countries also planning to move their embassies to Jerusalem.
However, when asked to confirm reports about the alleged move of the Philippine embassy to Jerusalem, Bolivar reiterated the country’s support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The Philippines was among 33 countries, and the only Asian nation, that voted in favor of United Nations Resolution 181 in November 1947. The resolution called for the partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states, “with the city of Jerusalem as a ‘separate entity’ to be governed by a special international regime.”