New US Ambassador to Live in Jerusalem, Palestinians Furious
Sunday, January 22, 2017 | Israel Today
The new US Ambassador to Israel under President Donald Trump will reside and work in Jerusalem, even if the embassy is still officially in Tel Aviv.
David Friedman is yet to receive Senate approval for his new posting, but has already confirmed that he’ll spend most of his time in Israel’s real capital.
Friedman owns an apartment in Jerusalem, and plans to live and conduct most of his diplomatic work there.
A day before his inauguration as America’s 45th president, Trump said he had not forgotten his campaign promise to move the US Embassy back to Jerusalem.
A giant billboard appeared in Jerusalem last week congratulating Trump on his inauguration and his decision to support Israel’s claim to the holy city.
“Mazeltov on your decision to move your embassy to Jerusalem,” it read.
The Palestinians, meanwhile, reiterated their threat to respond violently should Trump go through with the embassy move.
A statement released by a gathering of all ruling Palestinian terrorist organizations read:
“Moving the embassy, if it takes place, will ignite more fires in the region, where international officials are trying to find arrangements and solutions to different issues, including the Palestinian issue.”
The Palestinian groups insisted that Jerusalem is an “occupied city” and that supporting Israel’s claim to it would be seen as a declaration of war.
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