US moves embassy to Jerusalem in May
WASHINGTON— The United States on Friday said it would relocate its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in May, to coincide with the Jewish state’s 70th anniversary.
“In May, the United States plans to open a new US embassy in Jerusalem. The opening will coincide with Israel’s 70th anniversary,” said state department spokesperson Heather Nauert in a statement.
But the move enraged Palestinians who hit the decision as a “blatant provocation” that could destroy the so-called “Two States” solution that Arabs repeatedly rejected since the end of the Ottoman empire.
The Arabs have rejected various peace schemes presented in 1937, 1947, 1967, 1979, 2000 and 2008.
Independence Day
Palestinians also objected to the date chosen for the embassy move, May 14, on which Israel declared independence in 1948 and sparked the Arab-Israeli War, in which Israel defeated Egypt, Syria, Transjordan and Iraq.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the announcement and said it would make Independence Day more meaningful.
Two states, one Jerusalem
Until now, the US embassy has been located in Tel Aviv with a separate consulate general located in Jerusalem that represents US interests in the Palestinian territories.
New tack
The new embassy will be initially located in a US consular building in southern Jerusalem’s upscale Arnona neighborhood, while Washington searches for a permanent location.
Trump broke with decades of policy in December when he announced the United States would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and a pledge to move the embassy.
Trump said his recognition of Jerusalem marked the start of a “new approach” to solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which had bedevilled all US presidents since 1946.
“The hardest deal to make of any kind is between the Israelis and Palestinians,” Trump told reporters on Friday at the White House.
Rejection again
But the Palestine Liberation Organization immediately decried Washington’s announcement as a “provocation to all Arabs.”
PLO number two Saeb Erekat told Agence France-Presse the result would be “the destruction of the Two State option, as well as a blatant provocation to all Arabs and Muslims.”
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas this week travelled to the United Nations to call for a new international conference by mid-2018, but insisted the United States should not have the central mediating role.