05/14/2018
Reception held for US delegation Sunday night; PM gives speech thanking Trump Administration and on growing US-Israel relations; Netanyahu: The truth is that under any peace agreement you could possibly imagine, Jerusalem will remain Israel’s capital.
Prime Minister Netanyahu welcomed the US delegation to Israel during a reception held on Sunday night in Jerusalem ahead of the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem Monday.
The Israel Foreign Ministry event was attended by the US delegation of over 250, including numerous officials, including 10 members of Congress, Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner who arrived in Israel Sunday.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is also the Israel’s Foreign Minister, gave an address, praising President Trump’s “bold decision to recognize Jerusalem,” and speaking on the strong ties between Israel and the United States.
He began “This is a momentous time. President Trump is making history. We are deeply grateful and our people will be eternally grateful for his bold decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to move the embassy there tomorrow… tomorrow will be a historic day for our people and for our state. President Trump’s decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem affirms a great and simple truth: Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for the past three thousand years. It’s been the capital of our state for the past 70 years. It will remain our capital for all time. Thank you President Trump for your bold decision, thank you for making the alliance between Israel and the United States stronger than ever.”
He spoke of nations following the United States, including Guatemala which will open its embassy two days following the US. He also thanked Paraguay “because they’ll open their embassy a few days after that,” adding “And other nations are in the process of doing exactly that.”
Netanyahu called on all countries to “join the US in moving their embassies to Jerusalem,” because it is “the right thing to do”, will advance peace, and “because you can’t base peace on a foundation of lies.” He stated “You base peace on the foundations of truth, and the truth is that not only has Jerusalem been the capital of the Jewish people for millennia and the capital of our state from its inception, the truth is that under any peace agreement you could possibly imagine, Jerusalem will remain Israel’s capital.”
He spoke of Iran and its ongoing threat to the Jewish state and region, thanking President Trump for leaving the nuclear deal. On the Trump Administration’s exit from the nuclear deal, he stated “Pulling out of the nuclear deal means that the world’s greater sponsor of terrorism, greatest sponsor of terrorism, is no longer on a glide-path to attaining an arsenal of nuclear weapons. This is good for Israel, this is good for the region, it’s good for the world.”
The prime minister thanked the guests and ended by stating “We value all of your friendships, all of you for coming here on this historic occasion. Thank you for standing up with Israel. Thank you for standing up for the truth. Thank you for standing up for Jerusalem. Thank you for coming here from all over the world. We are celebrating a momentous day. Happy birthday Jerusalem!”
A ceremony will be held on Monday afternoon when the embassy will officially open.
Amir will give a special LIVE update on the embassy move, the expected Palestinian rage planned for Tuesday (Nakba Day), regional developments and much more! Tune in on Monday, May 14 at 9:00 pm (Israel time).