The U.S. State Department said on Friday that the United States is planning to open its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem in May, a move that has triggered wide condemnation and protest in the Arab and Muslim world.
The embassy will initially be located in the Arnona neighborhood in a building that now houses consular operations of U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem, said the State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert in a statement.
A new embassy annex on the Arnona compound is expected to open by the end of 2019, Nauert added.
Although Israeli Transportation and Intelligence Minister Israel Katz tweeted on Friday to congratulate U.S. President Donald Trump on his decision to transfer the U.S. embassy, the voice was outnumbered by the overwhelming majority of critics, especially in the Arab and Muslim world.
"This is an unacceptable step. Any unilateral move will not give legitimacy to anyone and will be an obstacle to any effort to create peace in the region," said Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Additionally, in Gaza, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem is a declaration of war against the Arab and Muslim world, according to reports of the Jerusalem Post on Friday.
Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat slammed the Trump administration's plan to move its embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May, a sensitive date designed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Israel.
Erekat also said in a statement that the White House has shown its determination "to violate international law, destroy the two-state solution and provoke the feelings of the Palestinian people."
After the White House decision came out on Friday, clashes broke out between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian demonstrators in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. About 32 Palestinians were injured, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said.
The clashes took place on Friday amid hundreds of Palestinian prayers demonstrating in Gaza City against the United States and Israel in the region, following the calls of Abbas' Fatah Party and the Hamas.
Mass protests and demonstrations have been going on every Friday in Gaza and the West Bank since Trump announced his intention to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last December.
