Israel 'in touch with 10 countries' over embassy relocation

JERUSALEM, Dec 26 (Agencies): Israel's deputy foreign minister has said her government is "in contact with at least 10 countries" over the potential relocation of their embassies to Jerusalem.

Tzipi Hotovely's comments on Monday came a day after Guatemala announced plans to move its embassy to Jerusalem, following a similar decision by the US earlier this month which sparked widespread international condemnation and mass rallies across the Muslim world.

Speaking to state radio, Hotovely did not specify the countries in question but said "some" of them are "in Europe".

"So far we have only seen the beginning," she said, adding that US President Donald Trump's decision would "trigger a wave" of followers.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the main sticking points in efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestinian leaders want occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, while Israel says the city cannot be divided.

Breaking with decades of policy, Trump announced on December 6 that the US recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and said his administration would be moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to the Holy City.

Currently, there are no embassies in Jerusalem.

Following Trump's announcement, a resounding majority of UN member states - 128 co

Meanwhile, an Israeli military court has extended the detention of a Palestinian teen who has become a national hero after she was filmed kicking and slapping Israeli soldiers.

Ahed Tamimi, a blonde 17-year-old firebrand from the West Bank village of Nebi Saleh, was arrested last week by Israeli troops and faces charges of attacking soldiers. An Israeli military court on Monday extended Tamimi's detention, along with those of her mother and cousin, for four days for questioning.

Tamimi was filmed earlier this month outside her family home shouting, pushing, kicking and slapping Israeli soldiers, who fended off the blows without retaliating. Palestinians are celebrating her as an icon of a new generation of resistance to Israeli occupation, while the soldiers' restraint stirred uproar over what some perceive as the army's humiliation.