What led to the Gaza protests?
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The embassy’s controversial opening comes as Israel marks its creation 70 years ago – an event that Palestinians refer to as Nakba – Catastrophe – because that development also turned more than 700,000 Palestinians into refugees.
Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization s delegation in Washington described the move as another step toward “a full-fledged apartheid”. Thousands more have been wounded. “And may God bless the United States of America”, Trump said.
It says it wants to draw attention to what Palestinians insist is their right to return to ancestral homes in what became Israel.
One man said “It’s a big recognition from the entire world”.
What was opened and who attended?
Speaking during a reception of a US diplomatic delegation in Jerusalem, Netanyahu thanked the United States for the relocation, which will take place on Monday.
The U.S. and most countries have long kept their embassies in Tel Aviv.
The opening ceremony was brought forward to coincide with the state of Israel’s 70th anniversary.
Speaking on the eve of the embassy opening, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was hopeful of success in efforts to end the decades-old conflict while National Security Advisor John Bolton said it should make peace “easier”. We have shown the world that the USA can be trusted.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s forces have stepped up attacks on Iranian targets in neighboring Syria over the past week, after saying Tehran-backed troops there targeted Israel with a missile barrage. Remember this moment. This is history.
Five months after President Donald Trump made his blockbuster announcement in December, it’s really happening. “We are eternally grateful”.
The Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania vetoed the European Union statement on Friday (11 May) ahead of the U.S. embassy opening ceremony on Monday.
Hours from now, the US will open its embassy in the Israeli capital, Jerusalem – a city also claimed by Palestinians as their capital.
The so-called Balfour Declaration is one of history’s most controversial documents, which while giving succour to the Zionist dream of a national home for the Jewish people, came at the expense of and at a bad price paid by the Palestinian people, half of whom were forced into exile in the diaspora or as refugees in Lebanon and Jordan, where they still live in appalling conditions under United Nations “protection” after seven decades.
In its statement on the embassy move, the State Department said, “we are not taking a position on final status issues, including the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, nor on the resolution of contested borders”.
Palestinians, however, see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. After the war, some of the Palestinian villages were destroyed, and Israel passed an Absentees’ Property Law that authorized the government to confiscate land and houses abandoned by Palestinians. “Today’s move of the US embassy gives life to a religious conflict instead of a dignified peace”.
Nevertheless, celebrations at Israeli embassies overseas to mark the occasion had already begun in the days preceding the anniversary.
First President Trump kept his promise to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. “This is a one-sided move that strengthens occupation and moves us further from peace”.
Placards in Jerusalem praise Mr Trump. “If and when the Trump peace plan is put on the table, the focal point will be what it says about Jerusalem”.
In a nod of approval to the recent decision of both Guatemala and Paraguay to move their embassies to Jerusalem as well, Netanyahu said, “Now, you know how you recognize real leadership?” Palestinians protested and there were clashes that quickly escalated into the second Palestinian uprising, known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada.
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Palestinian leaders and Arab-Israeli MKs have accused Israel of committing a “massacre” in Gaza.
