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US Prepares to Relocate Its Embassy to Jerusalem

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US Prepares to Relocate Its Embassy to Jerusalem

Road signs coming up near US consulate in south Jerusalem

Ignoring all protests opposing recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, US President Donald Trump’s administration has been moving towards relocating its embassy from Tel Aviv to the city. Jerusalem witnessed fixing of road signs on Monday ahead of May 14, the day when US consulate building will be officially repurposed as embassy.

According to reports, the signs, in English, Hebrew and Arabic, were installed by workmen close to the US consulate situated in south Jerusalem.

In December, US President Donald Trump had announced his decision of recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and asked Department of State to initiate the process to relocating its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Read More: Trump to order Embassy shift to Jerusalem despite world community warning

Trump’s move was met with widespread protests in most countries in the world, except Israel and regional US allies.  Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the US move saying that Washington has lost its credibility as mediator in the Middle East crisis.

US Prepares to Relocate Its Embassy to Jerusalem

The move prompted international condemnation and triggered a wave of protests in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had hosted OIC emergency summit on December 13 at Ankara where most countries had strongly condemned Trump’s move.  The leaders of the OIC member states condemned Trump’s decision.

Read More: OIC rejects Donald Trump’s Jerusalem move at extraordinary Summit in Ankara

Arab foreign ministers of Arab League member states had also called for international recognition of Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. This was aimed to nullify the controversial US decision.

Read More: Arab League call Trump’s Jerusalem move as dangerous

Britain had joined 13 other UNSC member states to vote in favour of a resolution calling for Donald Trump to rescind his declaration that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, showing the depth of global opposition to the move. US was the only country opposing the resolution.

Read More: Trump isolates US by recognizing Jerusalem as Israeli capital

Donald Trump had promised to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the US embassy to the city during his election campaign in 2016.  However, in June 2017, like his predecessors, he signed a six-month waiver to delay the relocation, which was expired on December 1.

The White House said at the time that the question is “not if that move happens, but only when”.

In February, President Trump, while speaking to Israeli media, reiterated that the issue of Jerusalem is off the negotiating table. “By taking Jerusalem off the table, I wanted to make it clear that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and as for specific boundaries, I would support what both sides agreed to,” Trump told an Israeli newspaper.

Nabil Shaath, an advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, while talking to Palestine TV in February has said,  “If US President Donald Trump carries out his decision, he will inflame the entire region and threaten the US’ interests there.”

The current US move will overturn decades of international consensus on Jerusalem, a highly contested city. The city is claimed by Muslims, Christians and Jews to be historically important for them. Half of Jerusalem was occupied and annexed by Israel following the 1967 War.

Read More: Saudi Arabia and Egypt gave prior consent for Trump’s Jerusalem move

Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its “united” capital, and its annexation of East Jerusalem effectively put the entire city under de-facto Israeli control. The Palestinians, however, see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. They were promised East Jerusalem as their capital by international community during the US sponsored peace talks through last several decades.

Surprisingly the international community, including the US administration, does not recognise Israel’s jurisdiction and ownership of Jerusalem.

Palestinians say that moving the embassy would prejudge one of the most sensitive issues in the conflict – the status of Jerusalem – and undermine the US’ status as an honest mediator.

Read More: Trump’s Jerusalem move: Our position on Palestine is independent, says India

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has warned that the move would have a “disastrous impact on the peace process, on the two-state solution and on the stability and security of the entire region”.

On December 2, 2017, US President Donald Trump had formally announced the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, reversing nearly seven decades of American foreign policy and ordered for the relocation of the US embassy. Following the announcement Trump signed a further embassy waiver under the Jerusalem Embassy Act. On February 23, the State Department announced the new embassy will open in May.

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Amid India-Canada diplomatic tensions, Justin Trudeau shares video of his Diwali celebrations

This comes a day after India expressed its concern over the reports of cancelled Diwali celebrations in Canada.

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Amid the ongoing diplomatic tensions between Canada and India over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday shared a video of his Diwali celebration on social media platform X.

Sharing a 44-second video of his Diwali celebrations on social media, the Canadian Prime Minister wrote, “Happy Diwali! So many special moments shared celebrating with the community this week.”

This comes a day after India expressed its concern over the reports of cancelled Diwali celebrations in Canada.

The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Saturday, while addressing the media over Canada’s serious allegation against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Nijjar, said it was unfortunate that the prevailing atmosphere in Canada has reached high levels of intolerance and extremism.

In the video, Prime Minister Trudeau showed off some colorful religious threads on his wrists, explaining that he received them during visits to three Hindu temples in Canada recently. He called them symbols of “good luck” and “protection,” adding with a smile, “I’m not taking them off until they fall off”.

Trudeau was also seen interacting warmly with the community, celebrating the festival, and enjoying delicious Indian sweets like jalebis, which he jokingly said he would “save for the team.”

On November 1, Trudeau posted on X, “Happy Diwali! Today, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain families will celebrate the triumph of light over darkness with festivities, candles, diyas, and fireworks. Wishing you all joy and prosperity during this special time.”

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Jaiswal said India condemns the recent allegations made by the Canadian government against Shah that he was purportedly involved in the killing of Nijjar and called it “absurd and baseless”.

Jaiswal also said that India had summoned the Canadian High Commissioner on Friday to protest in the strongest terms for the references made to the Union Home Minister of India before the Committee by Canada’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison.

On Tuesday, Morrison claimed that Shah orchestrated a campaign of violence, intimidation, and intelligence-gathering aimed at Sikh separatists on Canadian soil. He informed members of Canada’s national security committee in Parliament that he had confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which was the first to report the allegations. However, Morrison did not provide details on how Canada became aware of Shah’s alleged involvement.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

The Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

In a significant development, India and China have completed the disengagement exercise in the Depsang and Demchok friction points at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The troops of both the countries are now verifying the vacation of positions and removal of infrastructure.

Reportedly, the Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks. The two sides will exchange sweets for Diwali tomorrow.

Earlier, Foreign secretary Vikram Misri announced that New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement to disengage in the remaining friction points at LAC in eastern Ladakh. After the agreement, the two countries began troops disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang plains on October 23.

India-China relations worsened because of the Chinese troops’ aggression along the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border, in April 2020. It further deteriorated on June 15, 2020, after 20 Indian soldiers died in the line of duty thwarting the Chinese offensive in the Galwan Valley. New Delhi had said India’s bilateral relations with China will normalise only after the situation at the LAC returns to what it was before May 2020.

Reports said that the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have pulled back their forward-deployed troops and equipment from the two flashpoints, and have also dismantled temporary structures that had been built during the four-year-long standoff.

The Indian soldiers will resume their patrolling in areas that had been cut off because of the PLA’s presence. Nonetheless, the disengagement in Depsang and Demchok will not lead to the creation of buffer zones.

Both the countries had disengaged from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15) areas and created buffer zones. Speaking to a newspaper publication, Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), a former director general of military operations said that the disengagement at Depsang and Demchok will facilitate patrolling by both sides in a coordinated manner, and in the agreed upon frequency and strength of the patrolling parties.

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Iran says 2 soldiers killed in Israeli air strikes

Emphasising Iran’s right to self-defense under the UN Charter, the Iranian Foreign Ministry highlighted its obligation to counter foreign aggression.

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The Iranian Army said on Saturday that two of its soldiers were killed in Israeli air strikes that targeted military bases.

Iran stated that its air defenses effectively countered the attack, resulting in the unfortunate deaths of two soldiers and some areas suffering limited damage.

The Israeli military conducted strikes on Iranian military sites after 2 am on Saturday, responding to what they cited as ongoing attacks by Iran and its allies in the region.

Following the strikes, the Israeli military announced they had successfully completed the mission and achieved their objectives.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the precise targeting of military sites in Iran to neutralize immediate threats to Israel.

“I can now confirm that we have concluded the Israeli response to Iran’s attacks against Israel. We conducted targeted and precise strikes on military targets in Iran — thwarting immediate threats to the State of Israel,” the Israel Defence Force posted on X.

Iran’s air defense headquarters acknowledged the hits on bases in Ilam, Khuzestan, and Tehran but asserted that these attacks were effectively repelled, with investigations ongoing to assess damages. Moreover, Iran indicated its readiness to retaliate against any Israeli aggression, stating that Israel would face proportional consequences for its actions.

Iran expressed its intentions to respond to the Israeli attacks on its military bases, condemning the actions as a violation of international law and the UN Charter’s principles on the use of force.

Emphasising Iran’s right to self-defense under the UN Charter, the Iranian Foreign Ministry highlighted its obligation to counter foreign aggression.

Pakistan strongly condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran, attributing the escalation to Israel and urging the UN Security Council to intervene for peace and security.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasised that Iran should refrain from retaliating against Israel, advocating for restraint on all sides to prevent further escalation.

“I am clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression. I’m equally clear that we must avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to restrain. Iran should not respond,” the PM said at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The United States advised Iran to halt its attacks on Israel to cease the ongoing violence and break the cycle of conflict, underlining the importance of de-escalation.

“We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation,” U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett told reporters.

President Joe Biden was briefed on the Israeli operation throughout its development and execution by his National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan.

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