U.S. To Open Embassy In Jerusalem On May 14

The United States would open its Embassy in the City of Jerusalem on May 14, to coincide with Israel’s Independence Day, spokesperson of the Israeli Embassy to Russia said on Monday.

In December, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and instructed the U.S. State Department to launch the process of moving the U.S. embassy, currently located in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“The opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem will take place on May 14 on the Israeli Independence Day,’’ Alex Gandler told Russia’s Kommersant newspaper.

The spokesperson added that Israel was expecting “very important guests’’ to be in attendance at the opening ceremony and the celebration of Israeli independence.

The U.S. step to move the embassy from Tel Aviv has prompted criticism from a number of states, first and foremost those in the Middle East and Palestine and triggered a wave of protests in the region.