The United States opened its new embassy in Jerusalem Monday with a high-powered American presidential delegation joining Israel’s top leadership in a celebration of their countries’ friendship and the city’s history as the ancient capital of the Jewish people.
About 800 well-dressed guests packed a podium outside the former U.S. Consulate compound in southeastern Jerusalem that was rededicated as the new embassy, for the time being until a permanent site is determined.
Guests were handed red and blue baseball caps marking the occasion, the U.S. Marines presented their colors and a large video screen featured the American flag and a montage of Israeli and U.S. leaders meeting throughout the years.
For Israelis, it marked the first official recognition of their capital after 70 years. But the move infuriated Palestinians, who seek the eastern part of the city that Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war as their future capital. Also absent were the ambassadors of many European nations that opposed the move, adhering to the stance that embassies should stay in Tel Aviv until Jerusalem’s final status is resolved.
Here’s a look at the highlights from the event:
WHAT GAZA?
The gala gathering came in the shadow of the deadliest day of violence along the Israel-Gaza border since the 2014 war, where Israeli soldiers shot and killed more than 50 Palestinians during mass protests.
The Gaza bloodshed taking place just 70 kilometers (45 miles) away seemed the furthest thing from anyone’s mind at the feel-good ceremony in Jerusalem, focused squarely on the city’s past, present and…
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