We will open embassy in Jerusalem next year, says vice-president Pence on Israel visit
THE US embassy in Jerusalem will be open by the end of 2019, Mike Pence said yesterday as he made the first visit to Jerusalem by a senior US leader since it recognised it as Israel’s capital.
The US had previously said it would take up to four years to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem but in a speech to the Israeli parliament Mr Pence, the US vice president, said that timetable had been sped up. “That United States embassy will open before the end of next year,” he said.
The Palestinians are boycotting Mr Pence’s trip and say Donald Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem disqualifies the US as a peace broker. But Mr Pence insisted he was still optimistic that Us-mediated talks between Israelis and Palestinians could soon resume for the first time since 2014. “Peace can only come through dialogue,” he said.
Arab-israeli legislators who held up signs reading “Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine” in protest at the speech were forced out of the chamber by parliamentary guards.
The leader of the Arab Joint List party, Ayman Odeh, said: “Our protest today is in honour of all who oppose the occupation and dream of peace.”
The status of Jerusalem has long been one of the most intractable issues of the conflict. The Palestinians demand to have East Jerusalem as their capital, which Mr Pence did not rule out, despite previous statements to the contrary by Mr Trump.