A Chadian delegation led by one of the sons of President Idriss Déby Itno met Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the "possible opening" of a Chadian embassy in Jerusalem, say Israeli authorities.
Benjamin Netanyahu had announced the resumption of diplomatic relations with Chad in January 2019 after 47 years, during a visit to N’Djamena during which he met President Déby.
On 8 September in Jerusalem, a delegation led by Abdelkerim Idriss Déby – one of the sons of the Chadian president – and intelligence chief Ahmed Kogri, met with Benjamin Netanyahu and the head of the National Security Council, Meir Ben-Shabbat, say Israeli authorities.
“Following the resumption of relations with Chad, we discussed the appointment of ambassadors and the opening of diplomatic missions, including the possibility of opening an embassy in Jerusalem,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on Twitter, whose services also reported discussions on terrorism, cyber security and agriculture.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today, at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, with Chad Cabinet Chairman Abdelkerim Deby and head of the Chad intelligence service Ahmed Kogri. pic.twitter.com/D4ZVrbuUQ9
— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 8, 2020
The Chadian Foreign Ministry denied the statement shortly afterwards, denouncing it as “baseless information”.
“The resumption of diplomatic relations between Chad and Israel in no way affects Chad’s position on the question of Palestine and the occupied Arab territories,” the ministry’s statement added.
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This visit comes less than a month after the announcement of an agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which will become the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan, and the first in the Gulf, to normalise relations with the Hebrew state.
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The status of Jerusalem, a city whose eastern part, the Palestinian sector, was annexed by Israel in 1967, is one of the thorniest issues for a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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The UN considers that this issue must be the subject of an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians, and that in the meantime, countries should not establish their diplomatic representation in Israel in Jerusalem.
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