Israel opens Slovenia embassy amid Ljubljana protests

Israel opened an embassy in Ljubljana on Wednesday as Prime Minister Janez Jansa's government deepened a diplomatic reset with Israel and thousands of protesters marched through the Slovenian capital.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, speaking alongside Slovenian Foreign Minister Tone Kajzer during his first official visit to the country, thanked Slovenia for what he called its friendship with Israel.

“Slovenia... has stood and is standing with Israel when it matters,” Saar told a press conference before the inauguration. “Israel remembers its friends. As you have stood with us, we will stand with you.”

Asked whether he expected Slovenians to help Israel relocate Palestinians from Gaza, Saar said Israel was “not planning to expel or to deport anyone” from Gaza. He said Israel would not oppose someone leaving Gaza voluntarily if another country was ready to accept them.

Slovenia's foreign ministry described the embassy opening as “an important milestone in relations”.

Jansa, who took office for a fourth time earlier this year, has reversed several measures taken by the previous centre-left government of Robert Golob, which described Israel's campaign in Gaza as “genocide”. Under Jansa, Slovenia has vetoed an EU statement condemning settlements in the occupied West Bank, reversed its own ban on imports from the settlements, lifted its arms embargo on Israel and scrapped entry bans on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and two of his ministers.

Jansa has said his government was “only normalising Slovenia's foreign policy and fixing the damage” caused by Golob.

The shift remains contested inside Slovenia. Thousands gathered under heavy police presence in central Ljubljana, carrying banners including “We stand together for peace and Palestine” and “Genocide is not self-defence”.

A June poll by the daily newspaper Delo found that 56 percent of Slovenians opposed closer ties with Israel and 14 percent supported them.

Golob's party has described the new embassy as “a return of the favour” for Israel's alleged support of Jansa during the March election. Former Slovenian president Danilo Turk told AFP that Slovenia had “become an instrument of Israeli policy”, calling the situation uncomfortable.