US Jerusalem embassy: What you need to know
DOZENS of people have died and thousands are injured after mass protests along the Gaza border in response to the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.
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MORE than 55 people were killed and another 2000 wounded when Israel opened fire on Palestinian protesters massing along the Gaza border in response to the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem.
There was global condemnation of the military response to the protests, which came after US President Donald Trump overturned decades of diplomatic decision-making to move the American embassy from the Israeli city of Tel Aviv to the ancient city of Jerusalem.
As Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner joined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to open the new embassy 100km away, around 40,000 Palestinians massed along the blockaded Gaza border, lighting tyres and rushing the heavily-fortified fence.
Israeli forces responded with teargas dropped from drones, rubber bullets and deadly sniper fire.
The result was the bloodiest day in four years in Gaza, the impoverished Palestinian enclave run by the extremist group Hamas and which is blockaded and held in extreme poverty by Israel.
The United Nations and Amnesty International led the outcry over the deaths and injuries to protesters, with UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein calling for those responsible for the “shocking killing of dozens” to be held accountable.
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The US embassy is now in West Jerusalem, which has been Israel's capital for nearly 70 years. Australia should consider following Trump's move.
— Tony Abbott (@TonyAbbottMHR) May 15, 2018
ABBOTT CALLS FOR AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY TO BE MOVED
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott wants Australia to follow US President Donald Trump’s lead and establish an embassy in Jerusalem.
Mr Abbott took to Twitter today to call for the Australian Government to consider a similar move.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull knocked back the suggestion almost immediately.
He told reporters in Sydney at a press conference shortly after Mr Abbott’s tweet that Australia’s embassy would remain in Tel Aviv.
“We’ve got no plans to move our embassy,” he said.
“We have taken the view, as indeed, most countries have, that it’s more conducive to the peace process to keep the embassies in Tel Aviv.
“Obviously, the status of Jerusalem and negotiations relating to Jerusalem are a key part of the peace negotiations, which we wish the very best for and which we support.”
Prime Minister Turnbull said the deaths of so many Palestians in the mass protests was “tragic”.
He condemned the conduct of the Hamas terrorist group for putting Palestinians in the firing line this morning.
“This is Hamas pushing people to the border ... pushing them to try to challenge the border, to get through the border,” Mr Turnbull told Melbourne radio 3AW.
“Hamas’s conduct is confrontational. They’re seeking to provoke the Israeli forces.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop called on Israel to refrain from using excessive force against the protesters.
“The Australian Government expresses its deep regret and sadness over the loss of life and injury during the continuing protests in Gaza,” Ms Bishop said.
“We recognise that Israel has legitimate security concerns and needs to protect its population, and we call on Israel to be proportionate in its response and refrain from excessive use of force.
“Australia urges Palestinian protesters to refrain from violence and attempting to enter into Israeli territory during the March of Return.”
Ms Bishop said the violence underlined the importance of a return to negotiations toward a two-state solution so “an enduring peace can be found”.
“The Australian Government is committed to a future where Israel and a Palestinian state exist side-by-side in peace and security, within internationally recognised borders,” she said.
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The violence is fuelling global concern that US policies are tipping the broader Middle East into even deeper conflict.
While Trump is winning international support for his efforts to strike a deal with North Korea, his contentious Middle East moves are roiling a region where the US administrations have long sought an elusive peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
The embassy move is widely seen as damaging Washington’s credibility as a mediator between Israelis and Palestinians. It adds to other Trump policies on Iran and Syria that have also stirred up regional tensions.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says the number of deaths has made it the deadliest day in Gaza since a 2014 war with Israel.
It says 1204 Palestinians were shot and wounded in mass protests near the Gaza border fence with Israel. The ministry says this includes 116 who were in serious or critical condition.
The statement says about 1200 others suffered other types of injuries, including from teargas.
The steadily climbing death toll was bound to fuel international criticism of the military’s open-fire policies against unarmed protesters. Rights groups have said the rules are unlawful.
Israel says it is defending a sovereign border and accuses Gaza’s Hamas rulers of trying to carry out attacks under the cover of the protests.
Amnesty International Australia has called for the Turnbull Government to condemn the Israeli military’s “excessive use of force in the strongest terms possible” and to back a United Nations resolution calling for a full investigation.
“This is another horrific example of the Israeli military using excessive force and live ammunition in a totally deplorable way,” AIA’s Crisis Campaigns Coordinator Diana Sayed said.
“This is a violation of international standards, in some instances committing what appear to be wilful killings constituting war crimes.”
Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale also called on both major Australian parties to condemn the Israeli military for excessive use of force.
“It is deplorable that the Liberal and Labor parties have failed to criticise the Israeli Government’s excessive use of force,” Senator Di Natale said today.
“What will it take for them to speak out? They must condemn this disproportionate response against Palestinians exercising their legitimate and important right to engage in non-violent protest.”
He added that President Trump’s decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem was “a body blow to the peace process and the Palestinian people”.
Like Ms Bishop, Labor’s Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong also urged Israel to show restraint today.
“We support the right for peaceful protest and call on both sides to de-escalate tensions,” she said in a statement today.
Senator Wong also backed the Australian Government’s call for a just two-state solution, which would require “recognising the right of both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples to live in peace and security”.
US MOVE TO JERUSALEM CONDEMNED AS ‘DEPLORABLE’
The world’s largest body of Muslim-majority nations says it “strongly rejects and condemns” the White House’s “deplorable action” to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation said it considers the US move an “illegal decision” and “an attack on the historical, legal, natural and national rights of the Palestinian people.”
The organisation said the move also represents “an affront to international peace and security”. The OIC said the US administration has “expressed utter disdain and disrespect to Palestinian legitimate rights and international law” and shown disregard toward the sentiments of Muslims, who value Jerusalem as home to one of Islam’s holiest sites, the al-Aqsa mosque complex.
Big day for Israel. Congratulations!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 14, 2018
The Palestinian Authority government has accused Israel of committing a “terrible massacre” while American and Israeli delegations have begun a festive ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new US Embassy in Jerusalem.
US Ambassador David Friedman welcomed the crowd.
“Today we open the United States embassy in Jerusalem Israel,” he said to warm applause.
Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump, both top aides to President Donald Trump, are leading a high-powered American delegation that also includes the treasury secretary and four Republican senators.
Meanwhile, President Trump tweeted that it is a “big day” for Israel before giving a video address at the opening of the new embassy, in which he said it was a “long time coming”.
Trump said that the US had “failed to acknowledge the obvious” for many years, adding that “today, we follow through on this recognition”. He also added that the new embassy was opening “many, many years ahead of schedule”.
The embassy move has enraged the Palestinians but the president said he remained committed to “facilitating a lasting peace agreement”. He said he was “extending a hand of friendship to Israel, the Palestinians and to all of their neighbours”.
🇮🇱🇺🇸 https://t.co/t7nbN53ISd
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 14, 2018
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also in attendance. Addressing the opening ceremony of the new American Embassy in Jerusalem, Netanyahu called it a “glorious” day.
He thanked President Donald Trump for showing the “courage” to keep a key campaign promise and says relations with the US have never been stronger. He says Mideast peace must be founded on what he says is the “truth” recognised by the US.
“The truth is that Jerusalem has been and always will be the capital of the Jewish people, the capital of the Jewish state,” he said.
The Palestinians claim Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as their capital and have strongly objected to Trump’s move.
WHY IT MATTERS
IT’S a patch of land that has been bickered about since the stone age. And things aren’t about to improve any time soon.
It stands at the crossroads of Africa, Europe and Asia. So little wonder it is home to such diverse cultures.
The kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Romans in 73AD. A democracy of that name was created by insurgency and United Nations Resolution in 1948.
But their ancient capital, Jerusalem, had long since been occupied by others.
Arabs. Muslims. Crusaders. Ottomans.
All lay claim to the hilly outcrop as a capital, a holy site — or both.
So the controversial establishment of the Jewish state — and its occupation of surrounding territories — has resulted in the city becoming once again a flashpoint of international (and internal) tensions.
Which is why so many nations attempted to avoid stirring the pot by granting Israel extra authority over the multicultural city by proxy. For that is how establishing embassies in the Jerusalem would be seen.
But US President Donald Trump has done away with such delicate diplomacy. He sent his daughter and son-in-law to personally lead the opening ceremony of a new embassy in the holy city.
It’s a move designed to send a message.
And, as such, there is a difference between the style and substance of the controversial act.
Here’s what you need to know about the event scheduled for 11pm AEST tonight.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
On the surface, it was a fairly routine event. Not something often overseen by Presidential families. It’s a move that recognises Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
WHAT DOES THIS INVOLVE
The move of the US Ambassador is more about sending a signal to the Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians, Jordanians — and all other Middle Eastern nations — than moving the embassy itself. It’s really a symbolic repositioning of about 50 staff, including the ambassador, to what is an existing US consulate building inside the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Arnona.
But the remaining 800 members of the US embassy will remain in the existing compound on Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv. The process of finding a place to house them all within the crowded Old City is yet to begin.
WHO WAS THERE?
President Trump’s daughter Ivanka, her husband Jared Kushner and Secretary of the US Treasury Steven Mnuchin flew into Israel to attend the ceremony. So did an official delegation from US Congress.
REACTION
The Palestinian Authority, which maintains its claim to much of Jerusalem and the territories occupied by Israel, is not speaking with the Trump administration. The President’s declaration in December that he would move his embassy was seen as a slap in the face for ongoing negotiations and peace efforts. Jordan rejected the idea. The Arab League continues to argue that East Jerusalem should become the capital to a Palestinian state. But Honduras, Paraguay and Guatemala have since followed the US and announced they will reposition their own embassies in Jerusalem.
CONTROVERSY
That President Trump sent family as state dignitaries to such as significant event has raised eyebrows. But his choice of priest — Robert Jeffress — to make an opening dedication has also been controversial.
Robert Jeffress says “you can’t be saved by being a Jew,“ and “Mormonism is a heresy from the pit of hell.†He’s said the same about Islam. Such a religious bigot should not be giving the prayer that opens the United States Embassy in Jerusalem.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) May 14, 2018
Not only is having a prayer unusual for a nation that has a constitutional separation of Church and State, but senior Republican figure Mitt Romney has said the controversial Baptist minister should have nothing to do with the Jerusalem event because he’s a “religious bigot.”
SECURITY
Last week’s intensive air attacks by Israel against Iranian forces within Syria is also seen by some as an attempt to prevent any embarrassment. But police have reportedly been working for three months to prepare the scene around the new US embassy site. Several thousand police — including special patrol units and border police — have been deployed. Israeli media is also reporting the nation’s air force has been put on heightened alert for the event.
WHO WINS?
For the Israeli government and interest groups keen to exert Jewish ownership over the ancient city, this is a major achievement. The symbolic significance cannot be understated, as it is a bold declaration of the support the current US administration has for Israel’s past and present actions. Interestingly, the existing consulate (now Jerusaelm embassy) is built on what was a no man’s land demarcation zone at the UN-designated border of Jerusalem and Jordan before the 1967 Jordanian War.
Originally published as US Jerusalem embassy: What you need to know