May 14, 2018 15:37hrs
The United States officially opened its embassy to Israel in
Jerusalem on Monday, fulfilling a pledge by President Donald Trump who has
recognized the holy city as the Israeli capital.
"Today we open the United States embassy in Jerusalem,
Israel," U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman said at the beginning of
the inaugural ceremony, attended by a U.S. delegation from Washington and
Israeli leaders.
Trump's recognition of contested Jerusalem as Israel's capital
in December outraged Palestinians, who said the United States could no longer
serve as an honest broker in any peace process with Israel.
Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they
want to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Israel regards all of the city, including the eastern sector it
captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed, as its "eternal and
indivisible capital" in a move that has not won international recognition
US President Donald Trump, in a recorded message at a ceremony
opening the US embassy in Jerusalem, said on Monday he remained committed to
peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
"Our greatest hope is for peace," said Trump, whose
recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocation of the embassy to
the holy city from Tel Aviv, has outraged Palestinians and drawn international
concern.
"The United States remains fully committed to facilitating
a lasting peace agreement," Trump said.
"The United States will always be a great friend of Israel
and a partner in the cause of freedom and peace."
Israel launched celebrations on Sunday for the U.S. Embassy's
relocation to Jerusalem, a move whose break with world consensus was
underscored by the absence of most envoys to the country from a reception hosted
by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Monday's slated opening of the new embassy follows from U.S.
President Donald Trump's recognition in December of Jerusalem as Israel's
capital, a decision he said fulfilled decades of policy pledges in Washington and
formalised realities on the ground.
Those talks have been frozen since 2014. Other major powers
worry that the U.S. move could now inflame Palestinian unrest in the occupied
West Bank and on the Israeli-besiged Gaza Strip border, where Israel reinforced
troops in anticipation of the embassy opening.
Most countries say the status of Jerusalem should be determined
in a final peace settlement, and say moving their embassies now would prejudge
any such deal.
Addressing dignitaries at the Foreign Ministry, including U.S.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the president's daughter and son-in-law,
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the Israeli prime minister urged others to
follow Washington's lead.
"Move your embassies to Jerusalem because it's the right
thing to do," Netanyahu said. "Move your embassies to Jerusalem
because it advances peace, and that's because you can't base peace on a
foundation of lies."
Netanyahu said that "under any peace agreement you could
possibly imagine, Jerusalem will remain Israel's capital".
Jerusalem was decorated with roadside flowerbeds in the design
of the U.S. flag and posters reading "Trump make Israel great again".
"Tragically, the U.S. administration has chosen to side
with Israel's exclusivist claims over a city that has for centuries been sacred
to all faiths," the general delegation of the Palestine Liberation
Organisation to the United States said.
The U.S. Embassy move "gives life to a religious conflict
instead of a dignified peace," it said in a statement.
Israel said all 86 countries with diplomatic missions in Israel
were invited to the event, and 33 confirmed attendance.
Among those present were delegates from Guatemala and Paraguay,
which will open their own Jerusalem embassies later this month.
EUROPEAN RIFT
Attending the Foreign Ministry gathering were representatives
from Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic, but none from western European
Union states - suggesting a rift within the bloc over Trump's Jerusalem move.
No-show nations withheld comment on Sunday.
The EU mission in Israel tweeted on Friday that the bloc would
"respect the international consensus on Jerusalem ... including on the
location of their diplomatic representations until the final status of
Jerusalem is resolved".
Outside Jerusalem's ancient Damascus Gate, Israelis danced in
another celebration on Sunday, marking the capture of the Old City from Arab
forces in the 1967 Middle East War.
Hundreds of Israeli rightists entered Al Aqsa mosque compound,
an icon of Palestinian nationalism and a vestige of ancient Jewish temples.
Witnesses said some prostrated themselves in Jewish prayer, violating religious
restrictions at the site and sparking scuffled with Muslim worshippers.
Israeli police said several people were forcibly removed and
questioned.
The U.S. Treasury secretary called the embassy relocation
"a sign of the enduring friendship and partnership between our two
countries" and also referred to the U.S. withdrawal last week from the
Iran nuclear deal, a move welcomed by Israel and some U.S. Arab allies in the
Gulf but lamented by other world powers.
The Palestinians plan to demonstrate against Monday's
inauguration from Arab districts abutting the Jerusalem site.
On the border with Gaza, Palestinians have also held protests as
Israel prepares to mark 70 years since its creation, an event Palestinians call
the Nakba, or Catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands of them were displaced
from their homes.
More than 40 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and
thousands injured in the latest violence.
The Trump administration has sought to keep the door open to
Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy by saying the embassy move did not aim to
prejudge Jerusalem's final borders. The U.S. consulate in the city, tasked with
handling Palestinian ties, will remain.
Washington has not asked Israel to initiate peace moves in
exchange for the embassy relocation, U.S. Ambassador David Friedman told
reporters on Friday: "There was no give and take with Israel with regard
to this decision."
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner will say on Monday at
the opening ceremony for the US Embassy in Jerusalem that it is possible for
both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to gain more than they give in
any peace deal.
Kushner, the U.S. envoy to the Middle East and President Donald
Trump's son-in-law, was to speak amid tensions over Trump's decision to move
the embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
The Trump administration has nearly completed a long-awaited
Israeli-Palestinian peace plan but is still undecided on how and when to roll
it out, given Palestinian anger at Trump's embassy move.
"We believe, it is possible for both sides to gain more
than they give – so that all people can live in peace – safe from danger, free from
fear, and able to pursue their dreams," Kushner will say, according to
speech excerpts seen by Reuters.
"Jerusalem must remain a city that brings people of all
faiths together," he will say.
The Palestinians, who want their own future state with its capital
in East Jerusalem, have been outraged by Trump's shift from previous
administrations' preference for keeping the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv pending
progress in peace efforts.
As the United States prepared to open its embassy, Israeli
forces killed at least 28 Palestinians along the Gaza border, health officials
said, as demonstrators streamed to the frontier. Some 900 Palestinians were
wounded, about 450 of them by live bullets, the officials said.
Most countries say Jerusalem's status should be determined in a
final peace settlement, and say moving their embassies now would prejudge any
such deal.
Kushner will defend the embassy move in his remarks.
"While presidents before him have backed down from their
pledge to move the American Embassy once they were in office, this president
delivered. Because when President Trump makes a promise, he keeps it,"
Kushner will say.
He will also address the challenge from Iran a week after Trump
withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal despite pressure
from European allies to stick with the agreement.
"Iran’s aggression threatens the many peace-loving citizens
throughout the region and the world. From Israel to Jordan to Egypt to Saudi
Arabia and beyond, many leaders are fighting to modernize their countries and
create better lives for their people," Kushner will say.
"In confronting common threats, and in pursuit of common
interests, previously unimaginable opportunities and alliances are starting to
emerge," he will say.
Hard core US Arab friends will suffer most, such notably Jordan
which used to own Jerusalem. Jordan lost the city to IDF during 1967 war. Then
Jordanian King Hussein wept during the announcement confirming the fall of the
sacred city to Israel once and forever and he knew he would never get it back
then (Have you ever seen a King weeps for a loss?)
Please listen to current Jordanian King's father back in 1995
interview. Times and Conditions changed quite
(Interview starts)
HIS MAJESTY KING HUSSEIN(during 1995 interview): Regarding Jerusalem, sir, its western
part has been the capital of Israel since it was established regardless of the
countries which recognized this. However, the Arab side (of Jerusalem) could be
the symbol of peace between the two parties and both parties would achieve the
required situation in it. This might happen one day, God willing, as a result
of the negotiations thanks to the Palestinian efforts, Israel, or the efforts
of others. The issue of the holy lands is another topic of discussion. Once
again, I would like to reiterate that we, as Hashemites and Jordanians, do not
have any objective in or ambition toward Jerusalem
What took place was only an Israeli recognition, in the
Washington Declaration and then in the [Jordanian-Israeli peace] treaty, that
Jordan will continue its supervision during this period. Whether
or not this issue has been mentioned in the Washington Declaration or
elsewhere, this issue is sensitive for us, as well at for the Islamic world and
the entire world
The question which I would like to address to our brothers: What
could have been said about the Washington Declaration, or the treaty, had the
issue of Jerusalem been ignored?
The issue of Jerusalem will be tackled with time in accordance
with the Palestinian-Israeli accord. We will continue to carry out our duty
toward the holy places until a satisfactory and accepted solution is reached.
We only want to do our duty, nothing more nothing less. At the same time, my
personal feeling regarding the Islamic, Christian, and even the Jewish holy
places is that they should not be placed under the sovereignty of this or that
country, or any side. My personal feeling is that the holy places should unite
all believers in God who should have the same rights. The Islamic holy places,
for example, should belong to the entire Islamic world. Interfaith dialogue
will turn Jerusalem, this small city and small land, as God wanted it to be,
into a destination for all worshippers. Otherwise, tragedies will recur. I
believe this view will be accepted by people and all parties. This will help
solve other problems
(Interview ends) 
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