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Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Brazil will move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, newly elected president Jair Bolsonaro announced on Twitter, following the Trump administration's earlier move. Jair Bolsonaro, 63, the far-right populist, was declared the winner in Brazil's elections this week, beating out his rival, leftist Fernando Haddad.
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"As previously stated during our campaign, we intend to transfer the Brazilian Embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem. Israel is a sovereign state and we shall duly respect that," Bolsonaro said in his Twitter post Thursday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Bolsonaro's proposal to move the embassy.
"I congratulate my friend Brazilian president-elect, Jair Bolsonaro, for his intention to move the Brazilian Embassy to Jerusalem, a historic, correct and exciting step," Netanyahu said in a statement.
The United States embassy move upset the Palestinians and some U.S. allies who were concerned it could break down peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel and potentially disable the region, according to the Independent.
While Israel claims the entire city, which it captured in the 1967 war, the Palestinians claim the eastern part of the city where it wants to establish its capital in a negotiation of any future state.
Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, called Bolsonaro and the president "like-minded" individuals, but Rubens Barbosa, a former Brazilian ambassador to Washington, thinks Bolsonaro could back away from the announcements because of economics.
"In the case of recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, for example, it would be throwing away $6 billion per year in poultry sales to Arab countries," Barbosa told NBC News, pointing to the fact that Brazil is one of the world's largest poultry and beef exporters.
"There will be people to advise him on the impacts and he will listen," he added.
