Israel to bankroll PNG embassy in contested city of Jerusalem | ABC News

The Pacific Island nation, which sits off the northern coast of Australia, has made the controversial move of opening its embassy in Jerusalem, making it one of just five countries in the world to do so.

Mr Marape said PNG was formally recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and that the Israeli government would be bankrolling the embassy, for now.

"For the first three years, the nation of Israel is paying for the cost of the embassy," Mr Marape told ABC News.

"But going forward they've indicated land available for us and we look forward to proceeding, setting up our permanent mission there."

The status of Jerusalem remains one of the biggest flashpoints in the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel claims sovereignty over Jerusalem and deems it as Israel's capital, though that claim is not recognised by the vast majority of the international community.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent Palestinian state.

Almost all foreign embassies are in Tel Aviv, apart from the United States, Honduras, Kosovo and Guatemala, who have missions in Jerusalem.

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