Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands at the opening of the Central American nation's embassy in Jerusalem.

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu milk shake hands at the opening of the Key American nation's diplomatic mission in Jerusalem. (GPO)

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President Trump's historic – and controversial – determination to relocate America's Israel embassy to Jerusalem is alluring more followers on the world stage, as several other nations open up their own outposts in the holy city or consider doing and then.

Slovakia last week became the latest Eastern European land to flirt with the idea of moving its diplomatic mission, when lawmakers announced the country would open a cultural center in Jerusalem.

The tentative stride speaks to the flickers of international back up that have emerged for Trump's decision, despite the United nations' overwhelming condemnation of the related move to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

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Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales was among the get-go to outright endorse the decision. Just ii days later the U.S. opened its embassy doors in Jerusalem, he and Israeli Prime number Government minister Benjamin Netanyahu shook hands as the Fundamental American country opened its own embassy in an part complex in West Jerusalem.

Trump'due south decision final December to recognize Jerusalem as State of israel's uppercase – and corroborate the diplomatic mission move from Tel Aviv – reversed a decades-old U.S. policy and stirred anger amid many in the Arab earth and America's Western allies. Netanyahu, however, praised the U.S. and afterward praised Guatemala'south conclusion, saying that the two countries "share friendship, backbone and loyalty."

"It's not a coincidence that Guatemala is opening its embassy in Jerusalem correct among the first," Netanyahu said in reference to Israel's founding in 1948, co-ordinate to the Washington Post. "You were e'er amongst the starting time. You were the second country to recognize State of israel."

Less than a week afterward Guatemala's embassy opening, Netanyahu was once more shaking easily with a Latin American leader. This time it was Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes at the inauguration ceremony for the Southward American nation'due south embassy in Jerusalem.

The opening of the Guatemalan and Paraguayan embassies came on the heels of a decision in Apr by lawmakers in Republic of honduras to move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem, though the measure out is non-binding and currently no official move from Tel Aviv has taken place.

Experts say that function of the reason these Latin American nations are recognizing Jerusalem as State of israel's capital and relocating their embassies in that location has to do, in part, with the rise of evangelical Christianity in the region. But the diplomatic mission moves are as well seen as political maneuvering to curry favor with the U.S in the hopes of preserving strange aid and easing some pressure on them in regards to the current migration crisis.

"This is a low price mode to ingratiate themselves to the U.S.," said Eric Olson, the deputy director of the Latin American program at the Wilson Center. "They're using it as an opportunity to make the case for more assistance to bargain with migration problems. It's playing good defense with the U.Due south."

The status of Jerusalem is arguably the touchiest consequence when it comes to forging a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, who want control of E Jerusalem, which was captured by the Israelis in the 1967 Six-Twenty-four hour period War. Israel, however, regards the entirety of Jerusalem as the country's capital.

The opening of the U.S. embassy was met with clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops in which dozens of Palestinians were killed or wounded.

Besides fueling a long-running conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, the status of Jerusalem has divided world powers. The United States' changeabout under Trump was met with widespread condemnation from many allies, including the European Spousal relationship, which believes the concluding status of Jerusalem should be decided in peace negotiations betwixt the Israelis and Palestinians.

Flags of the European Union.

Flags of the European Union. (Reuters)

Despite the grumbling from leaders in Brussels over Trump'south embassy relocation, not all European nations barbarous in line with the policy after the U.Southward. moved its embassy. While the EU officially boycotted the anniversary to celebrate the new U.Due south. embassy, 4 of its fellow member nations – Republic of austria, Romania, Hungary and the Czechia – accepted State of israel'due south invitation to nourish and, in the proceeding months, some European countries have made headway in moving their own embassies to Jerusalem.

In late May, the Czech Republic reopened its honorary consulate in Jerusalem after President Milos Zeman voiced his wish to move the Czech embassy to the city from Tel Aviv. Zeman is known for his pro-Israel stance, but the Czech Foreign Ministry building said to Israeli media that the decision to reopen the honorary consulate had "no influence on the final agreement on Jerusalem," and added that Prague "fully respects the common position of the European Matrimony that considers Jerusalem as the future upper-case letter of both states, that is to say, the Land of State of israel and the hereafter state of Palestine."

Later on a telephone call with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in June, Netanyahu appear that Bulgaria was following in the Czech republic'due south footsteps by opening its own honorary consulate in Jerusalem, while keeping its diplomatic mission in Tel Aviv.

And in Romania, a major political rift has opened over a proposal to move the country'southward embassy, with President Klaus Iohannis calling on Prime Minister Viorica Dancila to resign after she endorsed a secret deal to movement the country's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. In Romania, any conclusion on embassy relocation rests with the president, who said he was not consulted about that or the state visit Dancila paid to Israel in the leap.

"A secret certificate, a secret foreign policy memorandum, was discussed terminal week in the regime. That was a big mistake," Iohannis said, according to the CBC. "Because in foreign policy matters, if nosotros are talking about underground documents, which apparently are sensitive otherwise they should non be secrets, the president should have been consulted, which did non happen."