Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday that Samoa will open an embassy in Jerusalem this year, a rare move as most foreign diplomatic missions to Israel are located in Tel Aviv.Samoa will become the eighth country to open its mission in Jerusalem, and the third from the Pacific region after Fiji and Papua New Guinea.“Just spoke with the Prime Minister of Samoa, La’auli Leuatea Schmidt. I thanked him for his moral decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem in 2026,” Saar wrote on X.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“I also expressed our appreciation for Samoa’s consistent support for Israel in the multilateral arena,” he said, adding that he had invited the prime minister to visit Israel.The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel annexed east Jerusalem after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, in a move not recognized by the international community.The Israeli government has a