Washington/Jerusalem/Ankara: After declaring Jerusalem as the Israeli capital two months ago, the United States has now also announced the date of shifting its embassy to Jerusalem. The United States Department of State has announced that the US embassy in ‘Tel Aviv’ will be shifted to Jerusalem on 14th May, the day of establishment of Israel. This has elicited reactions from around the world and the Arab league and Turkey have strongly criticised the decision.
The related information was published on the website of the US Department of State. Israel is celebrating its 70th establishment day on 14th of May. On this occasion the US embassy currently in Tel Aviv will start functioning on a permanent basis in Jerusalem, as per mentioned in the website. Last week, on February 22, the United States Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, signed the orders regarding this.
Currently, the United States has a Consulate in the ‘Arnona’ city near Jerusalem. This Consulate will be converted into a permanent embassy, as per the State Department’s website. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has welcomed this announcement and has said that this is a big event for Israel. This will add to the enthusiasm for celebrating the Israeli Independence Day, claimed Prime Minister Netanyahu.
This announcement faced heavy criticism from the Palestinian leaders. 14th of May is the darkest day for Palestine. Thousands of Palestinians were expelled from their land on this day. The United States is hurting Palestine’s wounds by starting the embassy in Jerusalem on that day. There will be serious repercussions of this decision, warned Khaled Meshal, a senior leader of Hamas.
Turkey has criticised that this decision will be raising concerns for all the countries. ‘The foundation of the peace talks between Israel and Palestine has caved in due to this decision. This US declaration goes against the international laws, against the decision of the Security Council about Jerusalem and against the criteria of the United Nations,’ alleged Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish Foreign Minister. The Arab League has criticised it to be a provocative decision.
Meanwhile, on 4th of December, US President Trump had declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The resolution opposing this was passed in the United Nations by a vote of 128-9. In spite of this, the Trump administration is firm on the United States’ position that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
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