US delegation arrives in Jerusalem for its embassy opening

The couple - both senior White House advisers - will attend the ceremony. The plan was brought forward to coincide with the state of Israel's 70th anniversary.

 

A small interim embassy will open inside of the existing US consulate building in Jerusalem on Monday, while a larger site will be found later when the rest of the embassy moves from Tel Aviv.

Israel regards Jerusalem as its "eternal and undivided" capital, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem - occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war - as the capital of a future state.

President Trump, who had announced the decision, is expected to address attendees at Monday's event via video link.

The presidents of Guatemala and Paraguay are also set to attend; both countries decided to move their embassies to Jerusalem after Trump made his announcement.

The European Union has voiced strong objections to the embassy move, and most EU ambassadors in Israel will be boycotting the event.

In December last year, United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It was a move that upended decades of U.S. policy,’ was the announcement made by the U.S President Donald Trump which invited lots of criticism but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu termed it as ‘historic day’ for Israel. Also President Trump announced to move the U.S Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.