Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd L), his wife Sara Netanyahu (L), Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner (3rd L), US President's daughter Ivanka Trump (C), US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin (R) and US ambassador to Israel David Friedman (2nd R) attend the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018. The United States moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after months of global outcry, Palestinian anger and exuberant praise from Israelis over President Donald Trump's decision tossing aside decades of precedent. / AFP PHOTO / MENAHEM KAHANA
The United States moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after months of global outcry, Palestinian anger and exuberant praise from Israelis over President Donald Trump’s decision tossing aside decades of precedent. / AFP PHOTO / MENAHEM KAHANA
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday praised Donald Trump for “making history by recognizing history” at a ceremony dedicating the new US embassy in Jerusalem, while President Reuven Rivlin thanked the US president for “keeping his promise.”
“What a glorious day,” Netanyahu told the crowd at the new embassy building in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Arnona. “Remember this moment, this is history. President Trump, by recognizing history, you have made history.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday praised Donald Trump for “making history by recognizing history” at a ceremony dedicating the new US embassy in Jerusalem, while President Reuven Rivlin thanked the US president for “keeping his promise.”
“What a glorious day,” Netanyahu told the crowd at the new embassy building in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Arnona. “Remember this moment, this is history. President Trump, by recognizing history, you have made history.”
“Today, the embassy of the most powerful country on earth, our friend and ally, the United States of America, opens in Jerusalem,” he exclaimed.
Some 800 guests attended the embassy dedication. Representing the US at the opening were US Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, the president’s daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump, and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt. US Ambassador David Friedman was presiding over the dedication ceremony.
“We have no better friends in the world,” Netanyahu told the American guests.
Addressing Kushner and Ivanka Trump, he said, “Your presence here today is a testament to the importance of this occasion,” and thanked them for their “pursuit of peace.”
“In Jerusalem, King David established Jerusalem as a capital 3,000 years ago,” Netanyahue continued. “King Solomon later built the Temple, and over 2,000 years later, we got to hear the sentence ‘The Temple Mount is in our hands.’ We are here in Jerusalem, and we are here to stay.
“We are here to celebrate another historic moment in the history of this city,” he said, comparing the relocation of the embassy to the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.
“Thank you, President Trump, for making the bond between us stronger than ever,” Netanyahu said. “Ambassador Friedman, thanks for everything you do to bring our countries closer than ever. You are the first US ambassador to serve your country from Jerusalem, and that is an immense honor.
“This is a good day for peace too. You can only build peace upon truth, and the truth is that Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel for 3,000 years,” he said. “May the opening of this embassy spread the truth far and wide.”
President Rivlin spoke earlier at the ceremony. “’Our feet were standing, within your gates in the gates of Jerusalem,’ the capital of Israel,” he said, quoting from Psalm 122. “For three thousand years, the Jewish people kept their faith in Jerusalem. For three thousand years we prayed for Jerusalem, and since the establishment of the State of Israel 70 years ago, Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel.
Meanwhile, more protests have continued as 400 Palestinians gathered along Gaza’s border with Israel on Tuesday afternoon, burning tires as they renewed protests that a day earlier claimed the lives of 60 people, the army said.
One Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire on Tuesday amid the sporadic renewed clashes on the Gaza Strip border, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said.
