WASHINGTON – Ending its decades-long policy on the Israel-Palestinian issue, the United States is set to move its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv on Monday, triggering situation in a region already facing various conflicts.
The opening ceremony of the controversial move – hailed by Israel but slammed by Palestine – will be attended by high US officials, including President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jare Kushner, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan.
A small interim embassy will start operating on Monday inside the existing US consulate building in Jerusalem, while the rest of the embassy will be shifted after finding a larger site.
President Trump is expected to address the ceremony via video link, BBC reported.
A number of envoys from European Union will not present on the occasion due to differences as Trumps move not only angered Palestinians, who gathering today for protest, but also drew ire from different Muslim and non-Muslim states.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, and approves the city as its “eternal and undivided” capital.
Media reports say two demonstrations are planned outside the ceremony while Isreali forces have been put on high alert to tackle the situation.
Thousands of Palestinians are gathering for a protest against the much-opposed move near a fence that separates Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has termed the decision as the “slap of the century”.
Since the end of March when Great Return of March was started, Israeli forces have killed over 40 palestinians in protests at the border.
In December last year, the US recognised the holy city of Jerusalem as the capital of the illegal state of Israel, President Donald Trump announced, plunging the Middle East into a deeper crisis.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/trump-recognises-jerusalem-as-israels-capital/
“I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” the president said during a speech in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, ordering the State Department to move the US Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Trump added, “Jerusalem is not just the heart of three great religions, but it is now also the heart of one of the most successful democracies in the world.”
On the 2016 campaign trail, Trump repeatedly promised to move the embassy. Earlier this year, Trump visited Israel on his first foreign trip as president and prayed at the Western Wall. He was hosted by Netanyahu and his wife in their home.
The US Congress has already voted to move the embassy through the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which the president signed on Wednesday.
The US would be the first country to move its embassy to Jerusalem, which is claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians. Other countries who have diplomatic relations with Israel keep their embassies in Tel Aviv.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/128-countries-vote-in-favour-of-un-call-for-us-to-reverse-jerusalem-decision/
Following the US move, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling on the US to reverse its decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It was approved by 128 countries, with 35 abstaining from the vote and nine countries voting against.
