Jair Bolsonaro visited the Wailing Wall with Benjamin Netanyahu

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro visited the Western Wall on Monday as part of his visit to Israel, with which he seeks to deepen his relationship with the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

The South American leader visited the scene with the Israeli Prime Minister, with whom he has shown good chemistry since his inauguration in early 2019, an event to which Netanyahu has surrendered.

The two presidents, with a powerful security guard, briefly prayed instead. According to the AFP agency, it is the first time that an Israeli prime minister accompanies a foreign head of state to the place.

The far right Brazilian was Catholic but in 2016 He was baptized as an evangelist in the Jordan, a memory to which he mentioned several times his arrival yesterday in Israel in a speech full of religious references.

The set around the Wailing Wall is known as the Temple Mount, the holiest place of Judaism, and there is also the Al Aqsa Mosque, the third holy place of Islam behind Mecca. and Medina.

The European prime ministers and foreign officials do not usually visit this siteOccupied since the Six Day War of 1967, or during a private visit, although in the case of Bolsonaro, he included it in his official program in Israel, which triggered Palestinian protests.

On the Brazilian side, the visit aims to boost exports, mainly of soy and meat, and to conclude agreements for the use of Israeli technology for the production of drinking water in the semi-arid north-east of the country.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is also seeking to step up military cooperation to gain access to sophisticated Israeli defense equipment, badysts said.

According to badysts, the Brazilian far-right president must weigh the risk of losing the support of the influential evangelical group when he postpones the transfer of the Brazilian embbady to Jerusalem, disputed city between Israel and the Palestine, or lose markets in the Arab countries if it keeps its promises. campaign, thus annoying its powerful allies of the agri-food world.

The visit of Bolsonaro coincides with the Israeli election campaign for the general elections of 9 April, during which Netanyahu must be re-elected, which tries to highlight its proximity to international leaders during these days.

Bolsonaro has no agenda with the Palestinian side, which today condemned the announcement of the opening of a trade office in Jerusalem, a measure similar to the one carried out by Hungary last month with the opening of a diplomatic seat and the Czech Republic next year. the installation of an honorary consulate in the holy city.

(With information from AFP and EFE)