Opening of US Embassy in Jerusalem Days Away

US Embassy in Jerusalem

With the opening of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem only days away, the embassy changed its Twitter handle to reflect the move from Tel Aviv.

In a Twitter post on Thursday, however, the embassy said its new Twitter handle was USEmbassyJerusalem, when, in fact, the correct one is @usembassyjlm.

Despite the inevitable problems that occur during large relocations, the embassy is slated to open on Monday — fulfilling U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to move the embassy to Jerusalem.

The relocation amounts to U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a decision that delighted Israelis and angered Palestinians. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, as the capital of their future state.

Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat has urged diplomats, civil society groups and religious leaders to boycott the inaugural event.

“Those who attend the ceremony will be sending an ominous message, a message that they encourage flagrant violations of international law and [of] the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” he said.

Of the dozens of countries that have embassies in Israel, nearly all are in Tel Aviv.

Trump will not attend the event marking the opening of the new embassy, but his administration will be represented by Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, senior White House aide Jared Kushner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

VOA News

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