US to open Jerusalem embassy in May

WASHINGTON: The United States will relocate its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in May, coinciding with Israel’s celebration of the 70th anniversary of its independence, US officials said Friday.

The decision immediately sparked a furious reaction from Palestinians, who object to the US recognition of disputed city as Israel’s capital and call May 14 Naqba, their “day of catastrophe.”

The choice of the date, a year earlier than originally forecast, would further cloud efforts to restart peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, putting in greater doubt the traditional US role as an “honest broker.”

President Donald Trump in December broke with decades of policy to announce US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The US embassy has been located in Tel Aviv until now.The Palestine Liberation Organization decried Washington’s decision, calling it a “provocation to Arabs.”

The new embassy will be located temporarily in a US consular building in Jerusalem’s Arnona neighborhood, an official said, while Washington seeks a permanent location.The Palestinian leadership on Friday slammed a US decision to open its embassy in Jerusalem in May, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of Israel’s independence, as “a provocation to Arabs”.

The founding of Israel seven decades ago on May 14 1948 is mourned by Palestinians as the Nakba, or “catastrophe.” “The American administration’s decisions to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and choose the Palestinian people’s Nakba as the date for this step is a blatant violation of international law,” Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) number two Saeb Erekat told AFP.