Ivanka Trump and her husband, White House adviser Jared Kushner, attended a ceremony in Jerusalem to mark the transfer of the United States’ embassy from its previous location in Tel Aviv.
#USEmbassyJerusalem https://t.co/f1SFvrkcAH
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 14, 2018
Also in attendance from the American delegation were Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin as well as a handful of Republican legislators (no Democrats opted to attend). Prerecorded video remarks from President Trump were presented at the ceremony as well.
The embassy move is a longtime promise of American presidents, and it is no surprise that it was one of the current president’s priorities as well.
Monday’s date also marks the 70th anniversary of Israel’s declaration of its independence.
“Today, the embassy of the most powerful nation on Earth, our greatest ally, the United States of America, today, its embassy opened here,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in remarks offered at the ceremony.
It’s also no surprise that the move has been controversial and has also resulted in clashes between thousands of Palestinian protesters and the Israeli military at the Gaza border.
At this time, reports number roughly 40 Palestinian protesters who have been killed in the clash, and many more injured. The Israeli military has stated that among those killed were three terrorists who attempted to plant a bomb.
The violent protests are being promoted and paid for by the terrorist organization Hamas. According to a report by Reuters, “Hamas, the militant Islamist group that controls Gaza, has promised larger crowds in Gaza and elsewhere over the next two days.”
