President Trump plans to open a new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem this May, the State Department announced Friday.
“The opening will coincide with Israel’s 70th anniversary,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. “We are excited about taking this historic step, and look forward with anticipation to the May opening.”
With that, the United States will become the first country to place its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem. It is customary for diplomats to make their headquarters in a nation’s capital, but the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — in particular, disputes about which side should control what parts of Jerusalem — have prompted most international embassies to set up their offices in Tel Aviv. The U.S. relocation comes months after Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
“The Embassy will initially be located in the Arnona neighborhood, in a modern building that now houses consular operations of U.S. Consulate General Jerusalem,” Nauert said. “Those consular operations, including American citizen and visa services, will continue at the Arnona facility without interruption, as part of the Embassy.”
That pre-existing location allows the United States to avoid some of the diplomatic difficulties that arise from the move. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other Trump administration officials have emphasized that the recognition of Jerusalem doesn’t prejudge any future negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
“We recognize Jerusalem as the capital city of Jerusalem, but we are not changing or taking a position on the boundaries of sovereignty in Jerusalem, including geographic boundaries,” Ambassador David Satterfield told reporters at the State Department in December.
Trump’s team still hopes to reveal a peace plan that would allow for the formation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Most international observers expect such a state to have a capital in east Jerusalem, which Israel seized in the Six-Day War of 1967.
Palestinian officials demand a return to the pre-1967 borders, but Israeli leaders have refused, on the grounds that those borders are “indefensible” from hostile Arab neighbors.
“Initially, the interim Embassy in Arnona will contain office space for the Ambassador and a small staff,” Nauert also said. “By the end of next year, we intend to open a new Embassy Jerusalem annex on the Arnona compound that will provide the Ambassador and his team with expanded interim office space. In parallel, we have started the search for a site for our permanent Embassy to Israel, the planning and construction of which will be a longer-term undertaking.”
