The US consulate in Jerusalem, which serves Palestinians, will be absorbed into the new US Embassy to Israel on Monday, the State Department said, a planned merger that has angered Palestinian leadership, Reuters reports.

The decision to create a single diplomatic mission in Jerusalem was announced last October by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and had been widely expected for early March. The State Department announcement on Sunday gave the official date for the move.

The planned merger has raised Palestinians’ fears that the Trump administration is downgrading the handling of their concerns in the disputed city of Jerusalem, home to sites holy to Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

US President Donald Trump outraged the Arab world and stoked international criticism by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017 and moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv last May.

Palestinian leaders suspended diplomatic contacts with the US administration after the embassy move and have since boycotted US efforts to craft a long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, accusing Washington of pro-Israel bias.

The US Consulate General in Jerusalem is the top mission for Palestinians, who with broad international backing seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they want to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said the decision was driven by operational efficiency and there would be “complete continuity of US diplomatic activity and consular services.”

“It does not signal a change of US policy on Jerusalem, the West Bank or the Gaza Strip,” he said in a statement. “The specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem are subject to final status negotiations between the parties.”

When Pompeo announced the merger plan last autumn, senior Palestinian leader Saeb Erekat denounced the decision to eliminate the consulate as the latest evidence the Trump administration was working with Israel to impose a “Greater Israel” rather than a two-state solution.

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The decision by the U.S. to move its embassy to Jerusalem holds no value as the U.S. has almost reduced its reputation to zero, Turkey’s president said late Wednesday.

In an interview with TRT World, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was asked about the recent U.S. move to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem and a controversial photo of U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman who was shown standing next to an aerial image of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa compound in which a Jewish temple was superimposed over the famous mosque.

“America has almost reduced its reputation to zero,” Erdogan said. “America and Israel have taken this decision [to move the embassy to Jerusalem] which holds no value.”

Recalling a UN vote on U.S. President Donald Trump’s Jerusalem decision, Erdogan said: “This shows us that these actions are not approved around the world. If you say ‘I have money, I have power, and I can intimidate all of you using that’, you can’t do it. And nobody took you seriously.”

“And now you have moved your embassy there [Jerusalem]. So what? The capital city of Palestine is Jerusalem, and everyone knows that. There is no hesitation about that. Admit it or not, it doesn’t matter,” Erdogan said.

In December last year, the UN General Assembly voted 128-9 to reject Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Speaking about Republican People’s Party (CHP) presidential candidate Muharrem Ince’s claim that Turkey had not properly requested the extradition of Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) leader Fetullah Gulen to Turkey, Erdogan said Ince had to prove his claim.

“If you are honest and sincere, you need to either tell MIT [Turkish Intelligence Agency] of the person from America who has given [this information] or deliver the related documents to the Justice Ministry so that MIT has a right to reply,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan also said the number of ministers in the cabinet will be drastically reduced with the new presidential system, which was 25 in the parliamentary system.

He said the “Nation’s Gardens” would be created in some provinces, including Istanbul at the location of Ataturk International Airport after the new airport in the province is opened on Oct. 29.

“We will inaugurate that worldwide significant airport in Istanbul on Oct. 29. But hopefully, we will create a giant Nation’s Garden in place of the current Istanbul Ataturk Airport. We want it right in the center of the city so that it can be a Nation’s Garden.”

Source – Anadolu Agency

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Saudi Arabia on Tuesday said it opposed the US decision to relocate its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“The Kingdom rejects the American administration’s decision to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem,” the Council of Ministers said in its session chaired by King Salman.

“This step represents a significant prejudice against the rights of the Palestinian people which have been guaranteed by international resolutions,” it said.

“The government of Saudi Arabia has already warned of the grave consequences of such an unjustified move as a provocation to the feelings of Muslims around the world,” the Cabinet added.

The Council of Ministers reiterated the Kingdom’s condemnation of Israeli gunfire that killed scores of unarmed Palestinian civilians along the Gaza Strip border on Monday.

It stressed the need for the international community to shoulder its responsibility to stop violence and protect the Palestinian people.

The Cabinet reaffirmed the Kingdom’s firm positions toward the Palestinian cause and its support for the Palestinian people in restoring their rights in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab peace initiative.

The Cabinet also renewed the Kingdom’s support and welcomed the US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran and the re-imposition of economic sanctions.

Iran has been exploiting the gains from the lifting of sanctions to continue its destabilizing activities in the region, especially through the development of ballistic missiles and support for terrorist groups.

The Cabinet also stressed the Kingdom’s hope that the international community will adopt a firm and unified stance toward Iran and its hostile actions to destabilize the region and its support for terrorist groups, especially Hezbollah and Houthi militia as well as its support for Assad’s regime which has committed the most heinous crimes against its own people.

Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Awwad Al-Awwad said in a statement to Saudi Press Agency following the session that the Cabinet commended the announcement of the Public Investment Fund on holding the Future Investment Initiative for 2018 on Oct. 23-25 in Riyadh under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and under the chairmanship of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Public Investment Fund.

The initiative held last year was a huge success in which more than 3,800 experts and leaders from 90 countries participated.

The Cabinet valued the Council of Economic and Development Affair’s adoption of the Financial Sector Development Program 2020, one of the programs to achieve the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which seeks to develop the financial sector, increase its efficiency and promote savings, financing and investment.

The Cabinet also welcomed the decision taken by the Arab Ministers of Information at its 49th ordinary session held in Cairo to select Riyadh as the Arab Information Capital 2018/2019.

Source – Al Arabiya

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The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine, Sheikh Mohammed Ahmed Hussein, warned of the Israeli authorities’ decision to ban the Muslim call to prayer today during the US embassy move from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem.

The Mufti said in a statement yesterday that “this racist decision is very dangerous and violates all religious and international laws and norms which guarantee freedom of worship.”

“Those who are upset by the voice of the adhan should leave,” he said, adding that “it is ironic that the US Embassy will be moved to Jerusalem on the day of Nakba.”

He noted that transferring the embassy will not change the reality and that Jerusalem will remain the eternal capital of the State of Palestine.

Israeli media reported that the Israeli police will ban the call for prayer in Jerusalem during the inauguration ceremony of the US embassy.

In December, US President Donald Trump announced his administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and plans to move its embassy to the occupied city.

Source – MEMO

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The United States on Monday blocked the adoption of a UN Security Council statement that would have called for an independent probe of deadly violence on the Israel-Gaza border, which erupted as the new US embassy in occupied Jerusalem was opened, diplomats said.

“The Security Council expresses its outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians exercising their right to peaceful protest,” read a draft of the statement.

“The Security Council calls for an independent and transparent investigation into these actions to ensure accountability,” read the text

In the bloodiest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since a 2014 Gaza war, at least 55 Palestinians were killed in the clashes and more than 2,400 Palestinians wounded.

They erupted before Israeli officials and a White House delegation including President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka formally opened the embassy in occupied Jerusalem, and the bloodshed continued throughout the day.

The dead included eight children under the age of 16, according to the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations. The Gazan health ministry provided the overall death and injury toll.

“The Security Council expresses its grave concern regarding recent developments in the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the context of the peaceful protests in the Gaza Strip and the tragic loss of civilian lives,” the draft statement read.

“The Security Council calls upon all sides to exercise restraint with a view to averting further escalation and establishing calm,” it said.

“The Security Council calls on all States not to undertake any steps that further aggravate the situation, including any unilateral and unlawful measures undermining the prospects of peace.”

It also said that any decisions and actions “which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect” — a reference to the US decision to recognize occupied Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The Palestinians see occupied east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Source – Gulf News

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U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as “the capital of Israel” will take form on Monday, when the U.S. Embassy is moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem with a ceremony.

Jerusalem, the heart of Palestine and the Palestinian cause, is bracing for one of the hardest days in its history.

Thus, Israel’s illegitimate and inhumane efforts to Judaize Jerusalem will move to a whole new level.

The Tel Aviv administration hopes to find an opportunity to gain “international legitimacy” in the occupied city following the embassy’s move. Trump will give a speech via teleconferencing on Monday, the 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel, which Palestinians call the “Nakba” (Catastrophe).

Most of Jerusalem’s streets are already covered with signs with such sayings as “Zionist Trump.” Signs marking the new U.S. Jerusalem Embassy were placed by Nir Barkat, the Israeli mayor of the city.

While Israelis enjoy Monday as if it were a festival, Palestinians will face it with great disappointment, which they will show through peaceful demonstrations.

Jerusalem, a sacred site for Muslims where the Prophet Muhammad’s night journey began, has been through turmoil since the end of Ottoman rule in 1917.

After the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, Israel has been working hard to Judaize the city. In addition to its meaning for Muslims, East Jerusalem is also home to sacred Christian and Jewish sites.

In 1980 Israel declared both East and West Jerusalem “Israel’s united capital”. The U.S. is the first country to recognize this, thanks to Trump.

In response to the U.S. move, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) last December met in Istanbul and declared that “East Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine”.

Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem
The status of East Jerusalem is one of the biggest obstacles to the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

According to the UN’s plan to distribute Palestinian lands between Arabs and Jews in 1947, Jerusalem was supposed to have a special status and be under international control.

Jerusalem’s special status recognized its significance as a holy city for all three Abrahamic religions.

Zionist forces, in the 1948 war, occupied West Jerusalem. After seizing East Jerusalem in 1967, which had been under Jordan’s control, Israel violated international law by announcing that Israeli law was in effect in the city. This is how Israel annexed East Jerusalem.

With a resolution passed by the Israeli parliament (Knesset) in 1980, Jerusalem — both West and East — were declared Israel’s “united capital”. This made the annexation of East Jerusalem official.

In response, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 478 invalidating Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem and its capital claims. The international community, including the U.S., see East Jerusalem as being under occupation.

Under Trump’s decision, the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv will be moved to Jerusalem on Monday; all the other countries that recognize the Israeli state have their embassies in Tel Aviv. Israel’s illegal annexation of East

Jerusalem is in violation of the principle of international law that “an occupying force doesn’t have the right to rule over occupied lands”.

The U.S. has become the first country to recognize Jerusalem as the “capital of Israel”. Facing a backlash from the international community, the Trump administration ignored the warnings of further chaos in the region and escalation of the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Ancient city isolated from Palestine
The ancient city of Jerusalem has never been more alone or isolated for the some 3 million Palestinians dwelling in West Bank, who are barred from entering Jerusalem, which is surrounded by walls built by Israel. Five million Palestinian refugees scattered around the world are also unable to come back home.

Today, the number of Palestinians living in occupied East Jerusalem is less than 300,000. However, they face oppression such as arbitrary arrests and the destruction of their homes. Trump’s decision exacerbated anger and frustration in the city.

The good old days
Elderly Palestinians who recall the days before 1967, when Israel occupied East Jerusalem, say that they miss the old days.

“Gazans would bring strawberries and grapes from Khalil. Jerusalem was the meeting point for Palestinians.

Especially on Fridays at the Damascus Gate, you could see people coming from all corners of the country. Now, those who are left are hesitant to meet at the gate. The shops close even before it gets dark. Occupying soldiers are at every corner, ready to pull the trigger,” one elderly Palestinian told Anadolu Agency.

Stateless citizens
Even though Israel effectively annexed East Jerusalem, the Palestinians there are not seen as Israeli citizens and cannot exercise their civil rights. The slightly more than 300,000 Palestinians have permanent residence permits under “Jerusalem Identity Cards” given by Israeli authorities.

These Palestinians also have Jordanian passports, but these lack citizenship numbers, so they don’t have the right to work or any other rights in Jordan. Stuck in a kind of limbo, Palestinians in East Jerusalem live “without a state” for they lack both proper Jordanian passports and Israel ones.

14,000 banished Palestinians
Over 300,000 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem fear being banished from the city at any moment, as Israeli authorities might take away their “Jerusalem Identity Cards” at any moment using any pretext.

In order for Palestinians to be able to live in East Jerusalem, they have to meet demands set by Israeli authorities.

Residence permits are taken away if they live in a foreign country or the West Bank for a period of time.

By not allowing people in East Jerusalem to build houses and forcing them to leave the city, Israel aims to drive Palestinians away from the ancient city and make sure they never return.

Should a family member get involved in an attack Israel views as “terrorist”, the entire family is banished from Jerusalem.

According to B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, Israel has cancelled 14,000 residence permits since 1967, banishing their permit holders from East Jerusalem.

200,000 Jewish settlers
In order to shift East Jerusalem’s demographic makeup in favour of Jews, the Israeli administration has built 10 Jewish settlements in violation of international law.

Over 200,000 people live in these illegal settlements, where non-Jews are not allowed to reside.

By adding additional settlements in the city, Israel tries to artificially boost the Jewish population.

Israel ignores UN resolutions
Under international law, the Jewish settlements of Israel built in East Jerusalem and the West Bank are illegal. But despite considerable international opposition, Israel continues to implement occupation and enlargement policies.

In a December 2016 resolution, the UN Security Council demanded that Israel stop its settlement activities “immediately and completely,” but Israel has ignored this.

Palestinians blocked from building homes
While Israeli authorities continue to build more Jewish settlements, they put hurdles in front of Palestinian settlement projects and don’t let people build houses.

Over 20,000 houses face the threat of being demolished for being “unlicensed”. Israeli authorities demolish these houses and even make Palestinians pay the cost.

Source – Anadolu Agency

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Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip are preparing to cross the highly fortified fence separating the enclave from Israel, as part of the Great March of Return movement.

Monday’s rallies come ahead of the annual commemorations of the Nakba, or “catastrophe”, when the state of Israel was established on May 15, 1948, which led to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and villages.

The protests were also planned to coincide with the moving of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in line with the US’ recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December, furthering stoking tensions and angering Palestinians.

The rallies are part of a weeks-long protest calling for the right of return for Palestinian refugees to the areas they were forcibly expelled from in 1948.

About 70 percent of the Gaza Strip’s population of two million are descendants of refugees.

Since the protests began on March 30, Israeli forces have killed at least 49 Palestinians in the coastal enclave and wounded more than 8,500.

Palestinians in Gaza prepare to cross fence with Israel
Organisers of the Great March of Return say they are expecting as many as one million people to join the demonstration and attempt to cross the fence with Israel from various points across the border.

A leaflet circulated by the organisers reads: “The national committee for the Great March of Return invites you to participate in the peaceful popular protest, One Million of Return and Breaking the Siege”.

A spokesperson for the Great March of Return, Ahmad Abu Artema, told Al Jazeera on Monday that the aim of trying to cross the fence is to “send a message the Palestinian people have not and will not adapt to 70 years of being refugees, estrangement and difficult conditions.”

“We are adamant to return, no matter what happens. This is what the people of Gaza want – it’s about popular will. And this is their right.”

The Right of Return is enshrined in United Nations Resolution 194.

Israeli officials have accused Hamas of being behind the protests, saying the movement exploits Palestinians and deliberately exposes them to danger near the border fence.

The organisers behind the Great March of Return have rejected these claims.

Early on Monday, the Israeli military, which has imposed a land, sea and air blockade on the Gaza Strip for more than a decade, dropped leaflets warning Palestinians to stay away from the border.

Source – Al Jazeera

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An Arab member of the Israeli Knesset, Ahmad Tibi, stated that “now and more than ever before, Jerusalem is witnessing an unprecedented attack. However, and despite all this, it will remain Arab and Palestinian with its churches, mosques and alleys.” The MP stressed that, “it is [Arab] before and after Donald Trump.”

In an interview with Quds Net News Agency, Tibi pointed out that “the decision of US President Donald Trump concerning the transfer of his embassy to Jerusalem is a slap to all Arabs.” Tibi stressed that this decision is dangerous, illogical, unbalanced and a violation of international law.

“This step proves that the American administration is part of the problem and not the solution, thus entrenching the US administration’s role as an active actor in the occupation, and not a part of the settlement or the convergence of views,” he clarified.

Tibi stressed the need to “stand against this step on the field, parliament and media, calling at the same time for political and popular action against the resolution and to address it by all ways and means.”

He concluded by saying: “The Arab and Muslim worlds are required to rise to the challenge and to protest, for everyone to know how dangerous this decision is. Following this step, Trump revealed that he himself and his administration no longer play the role of the peace mediator between Palestinians and Israelis that he has been trying to communicate.”

On 6 December, 2017, Trump had signed a decision to consider Jerusalem as the capital of the Israeli entity. He announced that he will transfer his embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem later, and on 23 February, two White House officials stated that the transfer of the embassy to Jerusalem will be in May, which coincides with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the occupation entity.

Source – MEMO

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The US Embassy in Israel has changed its Twitter handle to reflect the move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem next week.

The embassy wrote on Twitter Thursday that the @usembassyta account had been changed to “@USEmbassyJerusalem.” The correct account handle is @USEmbassyjlm.

The embassy has yet to change its account’s backdrop from the Tel Aviv coastline to Jerusalem, saying it is “still looking for a suitable header photo.”

The Trump administration is fulfilling a campaign promise to move the embassy to Jerusalem, de facto recognition of the city as Israel’s capital.

The decision has enraged Palestinians, who want east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war, as capital of their future state.

Nearly all countries maintain embassies in Tel Aviv. The embassy transfer ceremony is slated for Monday.

Source – Al Arabiya

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The White House has announced the list of attendees at next week’s ceremony marking the controversial relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem – with President Donald Trump not being part of the delegation.

Instead, a five-person mission, including Trump’s daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, will be present at the opening ceremony on May 14, a White House statement on Monday said.

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Trump’s Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt will also attend.
In December 2017, Trump called Jerusalem the capital of Israel and launched the process to relocate the embassy there.

The move, long-sought by Israel, broke with decades of US policy as well as the international consensus.

It prompted widespread condemnation and triggered a wave of protests in the occupied Palestinian territories and major international cities.

“This [embassy] move is not only illegal but will also thwart the achievement of a just and lasting peace between two sovereign and democratic states on the 1967 borders, Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security,” Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement.

Both Friedman and Greenblatt have made inflammatory comments regarding the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict in recent months.

Friedman, who was confirmed as ambassador by the US Senate in March, described as “alleged” the Israeli occupation of Palestine during an interview with Israeli publication Jerusalem Post in September 2017.

Following Friedman’s appointment, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he “will be warmly welcomed as President Trump’s representative and as a close friend of Israel”.

Greenblatt, meanwhile, said in March that Hamas, the Palestinian group which governs Israeli-occupied Gaza, is “profoundly unfit” to run the territory.

Road signs
The White House announcement came after “US Embassy” road signs went up in Jerusalem earlier on Monday.

The signs, in English, Hebrew and Arabic, were installed by workmen close to the south Jerusalem location of a US consulate building that will be re-purposed as the embassy when it is officially relocated from Tel Aviv, Reuters news agency reported.

Also on Monday, an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said Paraguay would also open an embassy in Jerusalem later in May.

Jerusalem is a highly contested city, half of which was occupied and annexed by Israel following the 1967 War.

Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its “united” capital, and its annexation of East Jerusalem effectively put the entire city under de-facto Israeli control. Palestinian leaders, however, see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Source – Al Jazeera

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US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, began sending invitations for a ceremony organised by the United States and Israel on 14 May to celebrate the American embassy’s move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Israeli Walla news site yesterday reported Israeli official sources saying that a US delegation of 250 officials is expected to attend the ceremony, pointing out that the entire Israeli government will participate in receiving the delegation.

The website said it was not yet clear if US President Donald Trump will attend the ceremony, however, his daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, confirmed that they will be in attendance.

The site said the Israeli police have begun preparing for the event which will take place at the Arnona neighbourhood of Jerusalem, noting that the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem is currently working on the construction of a temporary street to improve access to the embassy.

It also pointed out that the US State Department will soon build a three-metre high wall in the vicinity of the new embassy in order to improve its security.

Meanwhile, Israeli Finance Minister, Moshe Kahlon announced that he had issued an order to exempt the US Embassy from obtaining a prior permit to build the wall in order to speed up completing the project.

Part of the diplomatic compound that is scheduled to open as the embassy lies in the contested No Man’s Land between East and West Jerusalem. Israel took control of the area in the 1967 war and so it is still considered occupied territory by the United Nations, although the US relies on the fact that Israel and Jordan had informally divided management of the contested enclave.

Source – MEMO

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As the transfer of the US embassy to occupied Jerusalem approaches, Palestinians are planning to march by the tens of thousands to the fence that encloses the Gaza Strip to dramatise their plight.

“We want to frighten the Israelis with the images of massive crowds of people who peaceably gather and sit close to the border,” Hamas spokesman Ahmad Abu Retaima said. “We are working to bring out more than 100,000 people for the march.”

The announcement comes amid growing tensions over President Donald Trump’s December recognition of occupied Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and a US peace plan that has yet to see the light of day. Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has cut off all contact with the White House since December, this week called US ambassador David Friedman a “son of a dog”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted that Palestinian leaders — used to being “spoiled” by US administrations — were “losing their cool”.

Israeli occupation authorities are bracing for escalation beginning March 30, when Hamas will begin building tent camps along Gaza’s 40km border with Israel. Six weeks later Palestinians plan a mass march towards the border, defying warnings from Israeli officials — who doubt the march will remain peaceful — to stay 100 metres from the fence.

Trump’s envoys have continued preparing their peace plan and say they will present it when the time is right. According to a new poll by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah, 88 per cent of Palestinians believe the plan will favour Israel. Abbas has already pledged to reject the plan.

PNA officials refused to attend last week’s White House summit that brought together Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other countries seeking solutions for Gaza’s humanitarian distress. Abbas on Monday described the summit as a plot against the Palestinians and said he was imposing fresh sanctions on Hamas in Gaza.

Efforts to repair the schism between the PNA and Hamas have fallen apart, exacerbated by last week’s bombing of the motorcade carrying the PNA’s prime minister and intelligence chief on a rare visit to Gaza. Abbas blamed Hamas for the attack; Hamas accused Abbas of undermining Palestinian unity.

Israeli regime officials say Abbas’s pressure on Hamas is intensifying the distress of Gaza’s 1.9 million inhabitants, which Hamas seeks to channel against Israel. Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman last week accused Abbas of trying to push Israel and Hamas into war.

The Gaza protests correspond with red-letter dates on the Palestinian calendar. March 30 is “Land Day,” marking a 1976 incident when Israeli forces killed six Arab citizens amid violent demonstrations. In mid-May, when the US embassy is tentatively slated to open, Palestinians commemorate the “Nakba”, or catastrophe, of Israel’s founding.

The Hamas march is “clearly an attempt to break through the fences, and they are ready to tolerate losses,” Ehud Yaari, an international fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said in a conference call.

Hamas also appealed to Palestinians in the West Bank to confront Israeli occupation soldiers and colonists to keep the conflict “boiling”. Abbas’s government is sponsoring frequent “Days of Rage” where Palestinians are expected to vent their anger at Israel.

Yousuf Munayyer, an analyst at the Arab Center in Washington, said the border march will force Israel into an unpalatable choice.

“You’re essentially talking about the Israeli military lining up like a firing squad against a wall of Palestinians civilians walking towards the fence,” Munayyer said. “I don’t think that’s the optics the Israelis want to have out there.”

Source – Gulf News

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Guatemala will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in May, two days after the US embassy makes the same move, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said on Sunday at a conference in Washington.

Speaking on Monday at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee ((AIPAC) conference in Washington D.C., Jimmy Morales said that the embassy move “strongly evidences Guatemala’s continued support and solidarity with the people of Israel”.

“In May of this year, we will celebrate Israel’s 70th anniversary, and under my instructions, two days after the United States moves its embassy, Guatemala will return and permanently move its embassy to Jerusalem,” Morales said.

On May 15, Palestinians will mark Nakba Day, the annual commemoration of the displacement that preceded and followed the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948.

The move of the embassy will take place on May 16, with the Guatemalan president adding that he is “sure many other countries will follow in our steps”.

“I would like to thank President Trump for leading the way. His courageous decision has encouraged us to do what is right,” Morales said in a speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual policy conference, according to a translation of his remarks on AIPAC’s website.

Trump’s administration announced their recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital last December, breaking with decades of official US policy.

The decision led to the outbreak of protests throughout the occupied Palestinian territories, resulting in the deaths of at least 16 Palestinians by the Israeli army during the same month.

Netanyahu to talk with Trump about attending Jerusalem embassy opening
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will discuss the possibility of US President Donald Trump attending the May opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem when he meets Trump on Monday.

Netanyahu made the comment late Saturday before boarding a flight to the United States.

“I’ll definitely discuss with him that possibility,” Netanyahu said in response to a journalist’s question on whether he planned to invite Trump for the occasion.

“I’m very grateful to him for this historic decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to move the American embassy to Jerusalem on our independence day,” he said.

Source extracts – MEMO| Al Jazeera| Al Arabiya

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Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip announced a general strike on Tuesday protesting against the visit of US Vice President Mike Pence to Israel and his administration’s decision regarding Jerusalem, Quds Press reported.

The strike paralysed all sectors across the occupied Palestinian territories, except the education and health sectors.

Most of the Palestinian factions, organisations, NGOs and syndicates issued statements criticising Pence’s remarks that reiterated US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Dozens of Palestinian youths closed the highway connecting Ramallah with the northern governorates in the West Bank and burnt tires.

The different Palestinian bodies accused the US of helping Israel in “forging” the history of the holy city and “stealing the history of Palestine”, with full disrespect to the international resolutions regarding Jerusalem and Palestine.

They also criticised the weak official Arabic stance regarding the US and Israeli “aggression” on Jerusalem and Pence’s visit to the Western Wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian factions renewed their rejection of the US move on Jerusalem and called for Friday to be a day of rage across the occupied Palestinian territories.

It is worth mentioning that Pence reaffirmed Trump’s move on Jerusalem before the Israeli Knesset. In a joint press conference with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he made it clear that the US embassy in Israel would be moved to Jerusalem “before the end of next year.”

Source – MEMO

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Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Fatah Thursday decried Trump’s threat to cut aid to countries that vote against his decision on Jerusalem.

Hanan Ashrawi, an executive member of the PLO, condemned the U.S. UN ambassador Nikki Haley’s letter to UN member diplomats that she threatened not to vote against the decision.

“Haley’s threats will leave Washington administration alone,” the statement said.

“We will not give up, we will not be afraid. We believe that the members of the UN General Assembly will protect their political and legal commitment to the Palestinian issue with an overwhelming majority,” it added.

Fatah, one of Palestine’s leading political movements, also denounced the threat.

Fatah spokesman Osama al-Qawasm described Trump’s threat as blackmailing and an attack on the sovereignty of the member states.

He also wished the world countries would stand against the threats of the U.S.

“They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us. Well, we’re watching those votes. Let them vote against us. We’ll save a lot. We don’t care,” Trump said Wednesday at the White House.

Less than two weeks after Washington moved to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and begin the process to move its embassy there from Tel Aviv, the city where all other nations house their main diplomatic facilities in Israel — the U.S. vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that rejected the establishment of diplomatic facilities in the contested city of Jerusalem.

All 14 other Security Council members voted in favour of the Egyptian-sponsored resolution before it was nixed by the U.S. veto. The Council episode could signal a lopsided general assembly vote should member states choose to ignore Trump’s warning.

The full 193-member UN General Assembly will meet for a rare emergency special session regarding Trump’s Dec. 6 decision. Unlike at the Security Council, the U.S. has no veto power in the assembly.

Jerusalem’s status has long been considered a final issue to be determined by Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations and Trump’s decision is widely seen as undercutting that long-standing understanding. East Jerusalem, which

Palestinians are seeking to make the capital of their state, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.

Source – Anadolu agency

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US President Donald Trump will call Jerusalem the capital of Israel on Wednesday and begin the process moving his country’s embassy to the city, according to senior US officials.

Amid reports of the expected move, the Arab League urged the US president to reconsider, saying there will be “repercussions”.

In a telephone call on Monday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas called for a mass protest on Wednesday, and discussed how to unify the Palestinian people’s efforts to confront the threats facing Jerusalem.

The PA has also called on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Gulf Cooperation Council to hold meetings on this subject.

“If US President Donald Trump carries out his decision, he will inflame the entire region and threaten the US’ interests there,” Nabil Shaath, an adviser to Abbas, said to Palestine TV.

Last week, Palestinians said that comments by US officials reiterating the pledge by President Donald Trump to move the embassy reflected the futility of peace negotiations.

‘A very dangerous step‘
During his election campaign last year, Trump repeatedly promised to move the embassy and recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

In June, however, like his predecessors, Trump signed a six-month waiver to delay the relocation, which would have complicated US efforts to resume the long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

The White House said at the time that the question is “not if that move happens, but only when”.

The waiver expired on December 1.

Senior Trump administration said Trump will continue to sign the waiver until the process of moving the embassy, which could “take years”, is completed.

The controversial move, if implemented, would make the US the first country to have its embassy in Jerusalem – currently, all such diplomatic missions are located in Tel Aviv.

It would also overturn decades of international consensus on Jerusalem, a highly-contested city, half of which was occupied and annexed by Israel following the 1967 War.

“If the relocation happens, it would be the first of its kind and would reaffirm to Israel that Jerusalem is ‘one and unified’,” Zakaria Odeh, director of the Civic Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem, told Al Jazeera.

“It is a very dangerous step,” he added. “It would nullify any plans for future negotiations [on the conflict].”

Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its “united” capital, and its annexation of East Jerusalem effectively put the entire city under de-facto Israeli control. The Palestinians, however, see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

The international community, including the US, does not recognise Israel’s jurisdiction and ownership of the city.

Palestinians say that moving the embassy would prejudge one of the most sensitive issues in the conflict – the status of Jerusalem – and undermine the US’ status as an honest mediator.

Earlier this year, Abbas warned against the embassy’s move in an official letter addressed to Trump.

It would have a “disastrous impact on the peace process, on the two-state solution and on the stability and security of the entire region”, the letter read.

Under the proposed 1947 UN Partition Plan, the city was meant to be internationally administered, due to its importance to the three Abrahamic religions. But, in 1948, Zionist forces seized the western half of the city and declared the area as part of what became Israel.

‘Blackmail campaign’
Khalil Shaheen, a Ramallah-based analyst, described remarks made by Vice President Mike Pence last week on Trump’s embassy plan as part of a “blackmail campaign”.

He argued that the US is using the embassy as a tool to pressure the Palestinians.

“If the US relocates the embassy to Jerusalem, it will determine the city’s fate by recognising it as the capital of the occupying state, before even embarking on the peace negotiations it’s trying to achieve,” Shaheen told Al Jazeera.

“This will destroy any potential of establishing an independent Palestinian state through US negotiations – which is very dangerous,” he added.

Shaheen also argued the that US government is trying to draw out a path for the region at the expense of Palestinians, while attempting to force new conditions on their leadership before announcing its own plan for the peace process.

“We are witnessing the articulation of Israeli positions, but through American mouths,” said Shaheen, referencing the “Zionist” views of US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

“They belong to the most right-wing orientation in Israel,” he added.

Amani Khalifa, a Jerusalem-based activist, argued that the relocation might be a crucial political move for the diplomats of the PA, but not for ordinary Palestinians in Jerusalem.

“To regular people, it doesn’t really matter if the embassy stays in Tel Aviv or is relocated to Jerusalem,” she told Al Jazeera.

“But this move would make it clear to the rest of the world that there is no real sovereignty, and that the PA has no say over anything that happens in Jerusalem,” Khalifa added. “This has been the situation since 1967 – so this may be a good thing for Palestinians, to leverage on the fact that the occupation is real, and the move would act as proof.”

Referencing the expansion of Israel’s illegal settlement project and its house demolition policies in East Jerusalem, Khalifa described the move merely as an additional “step” that Israel would be taking to fulfill its objective of making Jerusalem its “undivided” capital.

“So, it’s really part of the wider context that started with the annexation,” she said.

Source – Al Jazeera

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American’s embassy in Israel may be relocated to Jerusalem as early as May this year, US Congressman Ron DeSantis, who headed a small official US delegation to Israel, said yesterday, Israeli media reported.

Head of the Subcommittee on National Security DeSantis, DeSantis met with a number of Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discussed the issue of moving the embassy.

In a press conference held in Jerusalem, DeSantis said he expected US President Donald Trump to take a decision to move the embassy in May, when former President Barack Obama’s suspension of the US Congress resolution to move it comes to an end.

In 1995, the US Congress decided to move the embassy to Jerusalem, but since then, US presidents have signed consecutive suspension orders every six months. The current suspension ends in May.

“I think it is going to happen,” DeSantis said, “to see this happen 50 years after the liberation of Jerusalem is going to be exciting for a lot of people in the US, and I know it is going to be very exciting for a lot of Israelis here in Jerusalem.”

“Knowing the president,” DeSantis said, “he has been a man of his word. I do not think that he is going to… I would bet that he would announce that the embassy is going to be moving.”

DeSantis said that Trump is “in a position where he is either going to follow his campaign promise or he will have to actually sign this waiver.”

The Californian Congressman said that he did not met with Palestinian officials during his visit to the region, but said he met with Arab stakeholders in the US, including the Jordanian King Abdullah II.

He also noted that there is a wide majority in the Congress who support the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem.

Source – MEMO

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A US delegation is in Israel exploring the possibility of relocating the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move that Palestinian officials have strongly warned against.

The delegation is led by Ron DeSantis, a Republican congressman, who is expected to meet Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, during the two-day trip which ends on Sunday.

“The delegation is in Jerusalem to learn first-hand what it will mean to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” said Ruth Lieberman, a friend of DeSantis and a political adviser in Israel, according to the Jerusalem Post.

US President Donald Trump repeatedly promised the move during his election campaign and pledged to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

Palestinians criticised such promises as they hope to make East Jerusalem the capital of their future state, and have had the broad support of the international community for that aspiration.

Those who have cautioned the US against such a move include Palestinian PresidentMahmoud Abbas, Hamas and Nabil Shaath, former Palestinian foreign minister.

Shaath in February told Al Jazeera: “Moving the embassy is the same as recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s united capital. It’s a war crime.”

The US has two consulate-general buildings in West Jerusalem.

One mainly deals with diplomacy with Palestinians, while another building issues visas to people who live in Jerusalem and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

“If the US were to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem … it would be effectively recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” said Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith, reporting from West Jerusalem.

“It would also be taking away from the Palestinians the separate recognition that these consulate general offices give them.”

However, Trump’s administration – like those of other US presidents such as Bill Clintonand George Bush who made similar promises – has “been rolling back on the idea[s] … despite initial promises made during the campaign”, he said.

According to some reports in Arab news media, Palestinian officials have been informed that the move is not likely to happen.

“This is after advice from Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who suggested it would cause violence on the Arab streets,” said our correspondent.

Other reports in Israeli news media suggest that David Friedman, the incoming US ambassador to Israel, might work out of an office in West Jerusalem as a compromise, while the embassy building would remain in Tel Aviv.

Friedman is known to be a supporter of Israel’s illegal Jewish-only settlements.

“That also, though, would be controversial,” Al Jazeera’s Smith said.

Source – Al Jazeera

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Palestinian leader tells US president-elect that a relocation would have a “disastrous impact on the peace process”.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has written to US President-elect Donald Trump telling him not to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, according to official Palestinian media reports.

Trump has said at various times that he plans to relocate the embassy, and last month chose David Friedman, a right-wing lawyer who has pledged to move the mission to Jerusalem, as his ambassador to Israel.

In an official letter, Abbas gave warning that such a move would have a “disastrous impact on the peace process, on the two-state solution and on the stability and security of the entire region”, Palestinian news agency Wafa said on Monday.

Wafa, which did not specify when the letter had been sent, said Abbas aimed to explain the “risks” of moving the embassy to Jerusalem.

Abbas also sent letters to other world powers, including Russia, China and the European Union, calling on them to “spare no effort” to prevent the US from making the move, Wafa said.

A potential relocation is severely opposed by Palestinians as a unilateral action while the status of the city remains contested.

Israel supports the move and has encouraged previous presidents to take similar steps to no avail.

The Palestinians regard Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while Israel proclaims the entire city as its undivided capital.

The US and most UN member states do not recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and the city’s status is one of the thorniest issues of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Last month Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s spokesperson, told a US radio station that moving the embassy was a “very big priority” for the president-elect.

Israel captured East Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967 and subsequently annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.

Source – Al Jazeera

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Israel’s ambassador to the United States issued an impassioned endorsement on Tuesday of President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, a move that would mark a break with longstanding US foreign policy.

Ron Dermer, the Israeli envoy to Washington, made the statement less than a week after Trump announced his decision to nominate as ambassador to Israel David Friedman, a pro-Israel hardliner who supports continued building of Jewish settlements and the shifting of the embassy from Tel Aviv.

Speaking at an Israeli embassy Hanukkah party, Dermer insisted that moving the US diplomatic mission would be a “great step forward to peace,” rather than inflaming the Arab world, as critics of the idea have warned.

Israel and the Palestinians, who are seeking a state of their own, both claim Jerusalem as their capital. Successive US administrations have said the city’s status must be negotiated. If Trump makes good on his campaign promise, it would upend decades of US policy and draw international condemnation. Jerusalem is home to sites sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians.

Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian official warned on Friday that moving the embassy to Jerusalem would mean the “destruction of the peace process as a whole.” The last US-backed talks on Palestinian statehood collapsed in 2014.
Dermer, without mentioning Trump or his ambassador-designate by name, said the embassy move “should have happened a long time ago.”

Among the main reasons, he told a crowd that included foreign diplomats and American Jewish community leaders: “It would send a strong message against the de-legitimization of Israel.”
Dermer said he hoped that next year when the new US ambassador lights the traditional Hanukkah candles in his embassy, he will do so in Jerusalem.

Dermer’s comments appeared more forceful than recent remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long vowed to keep Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital.

Netanyahu, who has had a fractious relationship with President Barack Obama, has welcomed Trump’s election but seems to be waiting to see what policies he implements.

The conservative premier is reported to have been pleased with Trump’s appointment of Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer and close friend of Trump who has no diplomatic experience, and members of his right-wing government have welcomed the choice.

Friedman has served as president of a US group that raised money for one settlement and has advocated that Israel annex the West Bank, as it did with Arab East Jerusalem following its capture in the 1967 Middle East war in a move not recognized internationally.

Liberal Jewish-American activists have sharply opposed Friedman’s appointment and are urging the Republican-controlled US Senate not to confirm his nomination.

Source – MEMO

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