U.S. Embassy road signs went up
in Jerusalem on Monday ahead of next week’s opening of the mission in
accordance with President Donald Trump’s recognition of the city as Israel’s
capital.
A Reuters witness saw workmen
installing the signs, in English, Hebrew and Arabic, along roads leading to a
U.S. consulate building in south Jerusalem that will be remodeled as the
embassy when it is formally relocated from Tel Aviv on May 14.
“This is not a dream. It is
reality. I am proud and moved to have hung this morning the first new signs
that were prepared for the U.S. Embassy,” Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat wrote on
Twitter.
Israel captured East Jerusalem
from Jordanian control in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in a move not
recognized internationally. The last round of peace talks on a Palestinian
state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip collapsed in 2014.
“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.
The Trump administration has left
the diplomatic door open for a possible Palestinian presence in Jerusalem,
however.
“By recognizing Jerusalem as the
capital of Israel and the seat of its government, we’re recognizing reality,” U.S.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a visit to Israel on May 2.
“I also stress, as President
Trump has said in December, the boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem
remain subject to negotiations between the parties, and we remain committed to
achieving a lasting and comprehensive peace that offers a brighter future for
both Israel and the Palestinians.”
Barkat called the embassy move a
“historic event,”describing Jerusalem as “the eternal capital of the Jewish
people.”
At the consulate site, mechanical
diggers cleared scrubland as workers posted embassy signs along city roads.
An Israeli police spokesman said:
“We’re not guarding the embassy signs but of course there is upgraded security
around the embassy which is already being implemented”.
“There are also new CCTV cameras that have
been set up in the area. The perimeter and all movement in the area are being
closely watched.”
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