On December 6, 2017, the United States of America officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital city of the State of Israel. American president Donald Trump, who signed the presidential proclamation, also ordered the relocation of the American diplomatic mission to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, constituting what is now the Embassy of the United States in Jerusalem, which was established on the grounds of the former Consulate General of the United States in Jerusalem. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the decision and praised the announcement by the Trump administration. On December 8, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson clarified that Trump's statement "did not indicate any final status for Jerusalem" and "was very clear that the final status, including the borders, would be left to the two parties to negotiate and decide" in reference to the recognition's impact on the Israeli–Palestinian peace process.
Trump's decision was rejected by the vast majority of world leaders; the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on December 7, where 14 out of 15 members condemned it, but the motion was overturned by U.S. veto power. The United Kingdom, France, Japan, Italy, and Sweden were among the countries who criticized Trump's decision at the meeting. Other countries supported the move; Guatemala affirmed their intent to issue a follow-up on the U.S. recognition and relocate their diplomatic mission to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, and the Czech Republic, Honduras, Paraguay, and Romania stated that they were also considering the same course of action. Italian politician Federica Mogherini, as the foreign policy chief of the European Union (EU), stated that all EU member countries were united on the issue of Jerusalem—she reaffirmed the EU's firm stance on East Jerusalem being the capital of an independent Palestinian state. By late 2022, only Guatemala, Honduras, and Kosovo had established diplomatic missions to Israel in Jerusalem; Paraguay reversed their 2018 decision within months, and the Honduran foreign ministry has since stated that they are considering a reversal of their decision as well.