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US All Set to Move its Embassy from Tel Aviv to Conflicted Jerusalem

Jerusalem

Jerusalem


The United States is all set to move their embassy in Israel to Jerusalem on Monday, a move which will give stability in the region according to US officials.

Although, contrary to the US believe, Critics say the decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital could further deepen ongoing conflicts in the region. And they argue it marks the end of the US role as an “honest broker” in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

The event celebrating the opening of the embassy is expected to begin at 9 a.m., ET (4 p.m., local time).

Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer who now directs the Intelligence Project at the Brookings Institution, said that with tensions between Iran and Israel escalating in Syria, President Donald Trump is now “only a few days away from throwing another can of gasoline on the fire by moving the embassy to Jerusalem. It’s very dangerous.”

The decision of moving embassy to Jerusalem came in last December, when President Donald Trump formally announced the city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Recognizing sacred city as capital was Trumps promise that he made to the pro-Israel group American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

“In the long run, we’re convinced that this decision creates an opportunity and a platform to proceed with a peace process on the basis of realities rather than fantasies,” David Friedman, the US ambassador to Israel, told reporters on Friday. “We’re fairly optimistic that this decision will ultimately create greater stability rather than less.”

The capital shift move is vexed for Palestinians and for many in the Arab world.

The land of Jerusalem is one of the most religious and controversial lands in the world, which is home to some of the holiest sites in Islam, Jews, and Christianity.

The long awaited implementation

The US congress passed the Bill of moving Israel’s capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 1995 but successive governments were reluctant to act, citing nation security interests.

The State Department noted that the opening will take place on the 70th anniversary of American recognition of the State of Israel, the day of its founding and a day that Palestinians refer to as “the Catastrophe,” as hundreds of thousands fled their homes.

Friedman is set to preside over the dedication ceremony. He’ll be backed by a delegation that includes Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Senior adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, senior adviser and first daughter Ivanka Trump, and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt.

President Trump will also appear in a video message to be played at the opening.

US officials say the move represents the long standing reality that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital.