Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat announced Tuesday that a traffic circle adjacent to the capital’s soon-to-open US embassy will named “US Square — in honor of President Donald Trump.”
The municipality plans to formally unveil the square in the presence of US officials after the opening on Monday of the embassy, which is currently a US consular building.
The square is located on David Flusser Street in the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Arnona.
Trump announced on December 6 that the US would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate its embassy there from Tel Aviv.
The US Consulate in Jerusalem’s Arnona neighborhood, February 24, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
“President Trump has decided to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish people, to stand on the side of the truth, and to do the right thing,” the mayor said in a statement.
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“Naming this square in honor of the president is our way of showing our love and respect for the president and the American people, who always stand by the side of Israel.”
On Monday, workers put up street signs pointing the way to the new embassy.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat hangs the first sign pointing to the new US Embassy in Jerusalem, May 7, 2018 (Jerusalem Municipality)
Small in size, the embassy will initially occupy part of the consular work space pending planning and construction of a purpose-built embassy — a long-term project, according to the US State Department.
Trump’s unilateral decision delighted the Israelis and enraged the Palestinians, who want to make the city the capital of their future state, and who say Trump’s decision ignores their demands.
Jerusalem municipality workers hang a road sign directing to the US Embassy near the US Consulate in Jerusalem, on May 7, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The question of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel considers the Trump declaration as recognition, albeit long delayed, of a historical fact.
To the Palestinians, it is indicative of what they say is the White House’s pro-Israel bias.
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