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JERUSALEM: Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka inaugurated the country’s embassy in Jerusalem on Wednesday, the island nation’s first resident mission in Israel.
“I’d like to acknowledge the special bond and the enduring friendship and relationship that has existed between Fiji and the State of Israel,” Rabuka said following the inauguration at a ceremony held at Israel’s Foreign Ministry in the presence of Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
Saar welcomed Fiji’s move, calling it a “bold, moral and historic decision.”
Fiji joins a small group of countries that have opened their embassies in Jerusalem, alongside the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Paraguay and Papua New Guinea, while Argentina has vowed it will follow in their footsteps in 2026.
Most countries have their diplomatic seats in Tel Aviv due to the disputed status of Jerusalem, one of the most delicate issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel has occupied east Jerusalem since 1967, later annexing it in a move not recognized by the international community.
Israel claims the city as its eternal and undivided capital while the Palestinian Authority wants east Jerusalem, including the Old City, as the capital of a future state.
In 2017, then-US President Donald Trump unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, causing Palestinian anger and the international community’s disapproval.
On May 14, 2018, the United States transferred their embassy to Jerusalem.
Two days later, Guatemala announced it would follow suit and transferred its own embassy to Jerusalem.
Papua New Guinea was the only other Asia-Pacific country before Fiji to open an embassy in Jerusalem, in September 2023.

LONDON: Israeli police used sound and smoke grenades against villagers in the Negev desert while authorities demolished dozens of Palestinian homes amid protests.

Israeli authorities demolished 40 homes in as-Sir, one of the unrecognized villages in the Negev desert, south of Israel, where about 1,500 Arab citizens of Israel live.

Israeli police reportedly fired sound and smoke grenades at residents protesting demolitions as owners responded to the arrival of bulldozers, leading to clashes with locals, according to Wafa news agency.

Israeli authorities have notified about 50 families of demolition orders for their homes after issuing another 30 notifications last week, leaving many residents of as-Sir homeless or facing displacement.

Residents say that Israeli authorities are providing no alternatives and continue demolitions and tree uprooting to prevent their return to the area, the Wafa added.

In recent months, more than 60 homes and agricultural structures in as-Sir village have been demolished in three phases. An Israeli court ruling has ordered the evacuation of the entire village, which would lead to the demolition of more than 200 additional homes in the coming weeks.

The Israeli government identifies about 40 villages in the Negev as “unrecognized,” claiming that roughly 55,000 Bedouins cannot prove land ownership. Arab citizens make up about 1.6 million people in Israel, representing 20 percent of the population.