Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner landed in Israel Sunday morning ahead of the US Embassy opening, BBC reports. Jerusalem, a sacred place for Jews, Muslims and Christians, was decorated with roadside flowerbeds in the design of the US flag and Donald Trump posters.
Trump-Kushner’s visit marked the 70th anniversary commemorating the Palestinian “Nakba”, or catastrophe, referring to their mass uprooting in the war surrounding Israel’s 1948 creation. The inauguration of the United States Embassy in sacred city Jerusalem is also an important milestone for the young Middle East state like Israel. Prime minister Netanyahu said,
‘Move your embassies to Jerusalem because it’s the right thing to do. Move your embassies to Jerusalem because it advances peace, and that’s because you can’t base peace on a foundation of lies.’
Netanyahu added as well that under any peace agreement you could possibly imagine, ‘Jerusalem will remain Israel’s capital’.
Ivanka Trump has landed in Israel for the opening of the US Jerusalem embassy on Monday, as protesters in Gaza prepare for a day of rallies along the frontier that are expected to be met with gunfire.
On Sunday evening, Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner attend a gala dinner ahead of the event on Monday which is due to start at 4 pm local time.
Reaction to the US embassy opening in Jerusalem
The first daughter confessed she was returning to Jerusalem “with great joy” and added that President Trump has recognised as Israel’s capital to the dismay of Palestinians, who claim part of the holy city as the capital of a future state.
“We look forward to celebrating Israel’s 70th anniversary and the bright future ahead,”
Ivanka wrote on Instagram ahead of the opening, which will take place on Monday, exactly seven decades since the country declared independence.
“We will pray for the boundless potential of the future of the US-Israel alliance, and we will pray for peace.”
In Gaza, a strip of land Israel has blockaded for a decade, tens of thousands of people are anticipated to gather for protests along the perimeter fence.
The Israeli army said on Sunday that it held Hamas accountable for anything in the Gaza Strip “and its consequences”. It added it had increased the deployment of “combat battalions, special units, field intelligence forces and snipers”.
