US set for Jerusalem embassy move
The US formally moves its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem as of this reporting Monday morning, after months of global outcry, Palestinian anger and exuberant praise from Israelis over President Donald Trump’s decision tossing aside decades of precedent.
While a White House delegation and Israeli officials were set to gather for Monday afternoon’s inauguration ceremony, there were concerns raised that Gaza protests less than 100 kilometers away will turn deadly if Palestinians attempt to damage or cross the fence with Israeli snipers positioned on the other side.
The inauguration that follows Trump’s Dec. 6 recognition of the disputed city as Israel’s capital also comes at a time of heightened regional tensions.
It follows his announcement last week that the United States is withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal and Israeli strikes two days later on dozens of Iranian targets in Syria. Those strikes came after rocket fire toward Israeli forces in the occupied Golan Heights that Israel blamed on Iran.
The Trump administration has vowed to restart the moribund Middle East peace process but the embassy move has inflamed feelings across the globe.
On Sunday, al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri released a new message saying America’s decision was evidence that negotiations and “appeasement” have failed Palestinians as he urged Muslims carry out jihad against the United States.
Trump “was clear and explicit, and he revealed the true face of the modern Crusade, where standing down and appeasement does not work with them, but only resistance through the call and jihad,” Zawahiri said, according to a transcript provided by the SITE monitoring agency.
Trump himself would not be part of Monday’s inauguration ceremony scheduled at 4 p. m. But his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner were expected to join the Washington delegation led by Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly called Trump’s decision “historic,” welcomed them at a reception on Sunday evening.
“Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for the past 3,000 years,” he said. “It will remain our capital for all time.”
Sullivan called the embassy “a long overdue recognition of reality.”
Police and the Israeli military planned major security deployments. Israel’s army said it would almost double the number of troops surrounding Gaza and in the occupied West Bank.
Israelis began celebrating on Sunday, as tens of thousands of marched in Jerusalem, some holding American flags, to mark Jerusalem Day.
Beyond the disputed nature of Jerusalem, the date of the embassy move is also key. May 14 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel.
The following day, Palestinians mark the “Nakba,” or catastrophe, commemorating the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes in the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation. —