US FINALLY ANNOUNCES DATE TO MOVE EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM
US FINALLY ANNOUNCES DATE TO MOVE EMBASSY TO
JERUSALEM
The
United States of America has finally announced the date it would relocate its
embassy to Jerusalem.
US said
its embassy in Jerusalem would open in May 2018, to coincide with the 70th
anniversary of Israel’s declaration of independence.
According
to Aljezera, President Donald Trump’s administration officials told the
Associated Press news agency that Congress would be notified of the move on
Friday.
A
ribbon-cutting ceremony is reportedly being planned for mid-May.
The
announcement means the move would come much faster than expected.
US Vice
President Mike Pence in late January said the controversial embassy would open
in 2019.
The US
decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem prompted angry protests
in Palestine and solidarity rallies across the world.
For
Palestinians, May 15 marks Nakba Day, or the “catastrophe”, when they
commemorate the mass displacement of Palestinians to make way for the state of
Israel.
Between
1947 and 1949, at least 750,000 Palestinians, out of a population of 1.9
million, were expelled from or fled their homes in Palestine.
Israel
Katz, Israeli intelligence minister, thanked Trump for the announcement.
“There
is no greater gift than that! The most just and correct move. Thanks friend,”
Katz said in a tweet.