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US Congressmen to visit Israel to discuss embassy relocation: Israeli MP

Saturday, 04 March 2017 8:14 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 04 March 2017 8:21 AM ]

Palestinian protesters hold placards during a demonstration against US President Donald Trump’s pledge to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, January 24, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

A member of the Israeli parliament has claimed that a US Congressional delegation will be visiting Israel to discuss with Israeli officials a highly-controversial plan to relocate the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds.

Yehuda Glick said on his Facebook page on Friday that the American delegates, including Chairman of the Congress Subcommittee on National Security Ron DeSantis and Congressman Dennis Ross, would begin their trip on Saturday.

According to Glick, during the 24-hour visit, the delegation members would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials “to discuss the practical and political implications of the embassy’s transfer to Jerusalem.”

Israeli lawmaker Yehuda Glick (photo by AP)

He further said that the Congressmen would also explore a potential new site for the US diplomatic mission and may return to the US “with an accurate analysis of the matter, in order to update the US administration and Congress.”

However, Congressman Ross has denied he would be taking part in such a visit. He told the Israeli TV channel i24NEWS that he “is actually not attending this trip.”

US President Donald Trump has pledged on numerous occasions — including personally to the Israeli premier in a meeting last September — to move the American embassy to Jerusalem al-Quds, in a sign of recognizing the city as the capital of a future Israeli “state.”

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The controversial rhetoric and the prospect of its potential implementation, however, have sparked widespread condemnations, with critics warning that the move could wreck the chances of peace in the Middle East for good.

Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state in the territories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem al-Quds, and the Gaza Strip, with East al-Quds as its capital.

Palestinian Authority officials, including President Mahmoud Abbas, the United Nations, the Arab League, and even US allies such as France have all criticized the potential US embassy relocation.

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