GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli soldiers shot and killed at least 52 Palestinians during mass protests along the Gaza border on Monday. It was the deadliest day there since a devastating 2014 cross-border war and cast a shadow over Israel’s festive inauguration of the new U.S. Embassy in contested Jerusalem.

In a show of anger fueled by the embassy move, protesters set tires on fire, sending plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones toward Israeli troops across the border. Later on Monday, Israeli forces fired from tanks, sending protesters fleeing to take cover.

The military said its troops came under fire in some areas, and said protesters tried to break through the border fence. It said troops shot and killed three Palestinians trying to plant a bomb.

President Donald Trump said in a video message played at the embassy inauguration — which took place just 70 kilometers (45 kilometers) from the bloodshed on the Gaza border — that he remains committed to “facilitating a lasting peace agreement” between Israelis and Palestinians.

However, Monday’s steadily climbing death toll and wall-to-wall condemnation of the embassy move by the Arab world raised new doubts about Trump’s ambitions to broker what he once said would be the Mideast “deal of the century.”

By late afternoon, at least 52 Palestinians, including five minors, were killed, the Gaza Health Ministry said. One of the minors was identified as a girl.

The ministry said 1,204 Palestinians were shot and wounded, including 116 who were in serious or critical condition.

The statement says about 1,200 others suffered other types of injuries, including from tear gas.

At the embassy ceremony in Jerusalem, Trump son-in-law and chief Mideast adviser Jared Kushner placed the blame on the Gaza protesters.

“As we have seen from the protests of the last month and even today those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution,” he said.

Kushner and Trump daughter Ivanka led a high-powered American delegation that also included the treasury secretary and four Republican senators.

The new embassy will temporarily operate from an existing U.S. consulate, until a decision has been made on a permanent location.

In Gaza, the Hamas-led protest was meant to be the biggest yet in a weeks-long campaign against a decade-old blockade of the territory. The Israeli military estimated a turnout of about 40,000, saying this fell short of what Hamas had hoped for.

The march was also directed at the inauguration of the embassy.

Moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem — a key Trump campaign promise — infuriated the Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as a future capital.

Monday marked the biggest showdown in years between Israel’s military and Gaza’s Hamas rulers along the volatile border. The sides have largely observed a cease-fire since the 2014 war — their third in a decade.

The protest was the culmination of a campaign, led by Hamas and fueled by despair among Gaza’s 2 million people, to break the blockade of the territory imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. Since weekly border marches began in late March, 85 Palestinian protesters have been killed and more than 2,500 wounded by Israeli army fire. Hamas said four members, including three security men, were among the dead Monday.

Ismail Radwan, a senior Hamas figure, said the mass border protests against Israel will continue “until the rights of the Palestinian people are achieved.”

“Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem will be a disaster for the American administration and a black day in the history of the American people because they are partners with the occupation and its aggression against the Palestinian people,” he added.

Throughout the day, sirens wailed as the wounded were carried to nearby ambulances. Groups of young activists repeatedly approached the fence, but were quickly scattered by gunfire and tear gas.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, said the army had set up additional “layers” of security in and around communities near the border to defend Israeli civilians. He said there already had been several “significant attempts” to break through the fence. The army said aircraft targeted a Hamas post in northern Gaza after Israeli troops came under fire.

The timing of Monday’s events was deeply symbolic to Israel and the Palestinians.

The U.S. said it chose the date to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel’s establishment.

But it also marks the anniversary of what Palestinians call their “nakba,” or catastrophe, a reference to the uprooting of hundreds of thousands who fled or were expelled during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.

A majority of Gaza’s 2 million people are descendants of refugees, and the protests have been billed as the “Great March of Return” to long-lost homes in what is now Israel.

Protester Mohammed Hamami, a 40-year-old civil servant, attended the march with his mother and five children. “Today we are here to send a message to Israel and its allies that we will never give up on our land,” he said.

Clouds of black smoke from burning tires rose into the air. Protesters have used the thick smoke as cover against Israeli snipers perched on high sand berms on the other side of the border. The army accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to plan or carry out attacks.

Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community. The Palestinians seek the city’s eastern half as the capital of a future state.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cut ties with the Trump administration and declared it unfit to mediate peace talks.

Saeb Erekat, a senior Abbas aide, said Monday that Trump had violated a promise to hold off on moving the embassy to give peace talks a chance and that his administration is “based on lies.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly praised Trump’s decision to upend decades of U.S. policy by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Although Trump has said his declaration does not set the final borders of the city, it is seen by both Israel and the Palestinians as taking Israel’s side in the most sensitive issue in their conflict.

Only two countries, Guatemala and Paraguay, have said they will follow suit. Most of the world maintains embassies in Tel Aviv, saying the Jerusalem issue must first be resolved.

Ben Zion reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah, West Bank, and Karin Laub in Amman, Jordan contributed to this report.</s>Please wait a moment for the video to load below.

The Trump administration is set to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem Monday, formally breaking from decades of established American policy and international practice in a move that US officials say will create greater regional stability.

Critics say the decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital could make a region already struggling with four ongoing conflicts all the more combustible. And they argue it marks the end of the US role as an “honest broker” in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

“In the long run, we’re convinced that this decision creates an opportunity and a platform to proceed with a peace process on the basis of realities rather than fantasies,” David Friedman, the US ambassador to Israel, told reporters Friday. “We’re fairly optimistic that this decision will ultimately create greater stability rather than less.”

The event celebrating the opening of the embassy is expected to begin at 9 a.m ET (4 p.m. local time). A pair of controversial Christian evangelical leaders, Pastors John Hagee and Robert Jeffress, will be on hand.

Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer who now directs the Intelligence Project at the Brookings Institution, said that with tensions between Iran and Israel escalating in Syria, President Donald Trump is now “only a few days away from throwing another can of gasoline on the fire by moving the embassy to Jerusalem. It’s very dangerous.”

Trump announced the decision to move the embassy in December, when he formally recognized the city as the capital of Israel. It marked the fulfillment of a campaign promise he made to the pro-Israel group American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

“As the President stated on December 6, 2017, the historic opening of our embassy recognizes the reality that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and the seat of its government,” the State Department said in a statement.

The Embassy move is contentious for Palestinians, who hope to claim part of the city as their future capital, and for many in the Arab world, as it is home to some of the holiest sites in Islam. The city is also home to deeply holy sites for Jews and Christians. The issue has been so thorny that international negotiators had left the question of Jerusalem to the final stages of any peace deal.

In 1995, Congress passed a law requiring America to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, but every president since then has declined to make the move, citing national security interests.

The State Department noted that the opening will take place on the 70th anniversary of American recognition of the State of Israel, the day of its founding and a day that Palestinians refer to as “the Catastrophe,” as hundreds of thousands fled their homes.

Friedman is set to preside over the dedication ceremony. He’ll be backed by a delegation that includes Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Senior adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, senior adviser and first daughter Ivanka Trump, and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt.

Trump will also appear in a video message to be played at the opening.

US officials say the move represents the longstanding reality that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital.

It also reflects a new Middle East reality, where ongoing wars in Syria and Iraq, and conflict in Yemen are uniting Israeli, American and Gulf Arabs around a central geopolitical focus: containing and constraining Iran.

In this scenario, the age-old tensions over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are fading, Trump administration officials say, and the embassy move is no longer the flashpoint it might have been. Instead, they argue it can become grounds for more realistic talks and ultimately a settlement.

A “sea change has been coming over a period of years,” said Victoria Coates, senior director for Strategic Assessment at the National Security Council, speaking of the closeness between Gulf countries and Israel.

She pointed to a tweet from the foreign minister of Bahrain saying that Israel has a right to defend itself in the face of Iranian missiles. “I think it shows you that the President is absolutely doing the right thing here,” Coates said of the embassy move. “It is not upsetting any regional balance; in fact, his leadership is what’s bringing the region together.”

But Diana Buttu, a Ramallah-based analyst and former advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said the US might be making a mistake and conflating the region’s leadership with its streets.

“I think the leadership is different from the people,” Buttu said, speaking to CNN from Ramallah. “On a people level, the support is there because it’s a just cause.”

“The question is not what the regional reaction is, it is what is legal and what is right,” Buttu said. The embassy move, Buttu said, was “making it worse because it’s going to embolden the extreme right in Israel.” She said the move also rewarded Israel for gains it made with the military.

Trump is “sending a message that its OK to acquire territory by force,” Buttu said, calling that a “very dangerous message in this region.”

In making what officials describe as a deliberate 180-degree policy shift from the previous administration, the Trump White House believes that by making the embassy move, they’re empowering Israel to deal from a position of strength, make concessions and create peace.

Asked if Israel had offered any concessions in return for gaining the long-held goal of US recognition of Jerusalem, Friedman said there was “no give and take with Israel with regard to this decision.”

“The Israelis are obviously desirous of this, and they’ve requested this, and they’re very happy by it,” Friedman said. “But the decision was made because it was viewed to be in the best interests of the United States and something the President had promised during the campaign.”

US officials say that they remain committed to helping forge a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace. In its statement on the embassy move, the State Department said, “we are not taking a position on final status issues, including the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, nor on the resolution of contested borders.”

But Aaron David Miller, a vice president at the Wilson Center, former Mideast negotiator for Democratic and Republican administrations, and CNN contributor, says that, “it’s hard to accept this argument.”

“Far from taking it off the table, Jerusalem — the most volatile issue in the negotiations — is now front and center at a time when neither of the parties are willing or able to deal with it,” Miller wrote for CNN. “If and when the Trump peace plan is put on the table, the focal point will be what it says about Jerusalem.”

And unless that peace plan reflects established language that reflects Palestinian aspirations, “including statehood with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital,” Miller wrote, “it’s hard to see the Jerusalem issue as anything but a continuing source of political impasse in negotiations.”

“And that ensures virtually no deal and the likelihood of violence over Jerusalem in the future,” he said.</s>The government also called the move "a significant prejudice" against the rights of the Palestinians, guaranteed by international resolutions, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The opening ceremony of the US embassy in Jerusalem took place on May 14, amid mass violent clashes between the Palestinians and Israeli servicemen on the border with the Gaza Strip.

At least 61 protesters have been killed by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

READ MORE: Opening of US Embassy in Jerusalem Marks Dark Day for Peace — Palestinian Envoy

Israel seized then Jordan-controlled East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. In 1980, the Israeli parliament adopted the Jerusalem Law proclaiming the entire city Israel’s undivided capital. The international community does not recognize the annexation and believes the status of Jerusalem should be agreed with the Palestinians, who claim its eastern part as the capital of their future state.</s>MIAMI (CBSMiami) – President Donald Trump defied much of the world in his decision to move the U.S. embassy to disputed territory in Jerusalem in a decades-long conflict. The move itself Monday was met with cheers and deadly chaos.

Israel’s consul general in Miami watched on television as the United States formally opened its embassy in Jerusalem, and saw that it was good.

“It’s a festive day. We were looking forward to the moving of the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for years, and we’re very happy that it’s happening today,” Consul General Lior Haiat told CBS4 News.

Palestinians were not happy. Thousands descended on the Israeli border and clashed with security forces. They want their capital in East Jerusalem, a territory disputed since the Israeli state was created 70 years ago. Scores were killed in the protests.

“Their way of expressing their disagreement is through violence and terrorism. It’s very unfortunate,” Haiat said.

Florida Governor Rick Scott attended the ceremony in Jerusalem. Earlier he visited the Western Wall, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called it a “great day for Florida, Israel, and the United States.

“Countries like Guatemala and, most recently, Paraguay, announced their intention to move their embassies as well, and I hope more countries will choose to do the right thing and recognize Jerusalem,” Rubio said in a video statement.

But many nations have condemned the U.S. move to Jerusalem as provocative and destabilizing. The U.S. vetoed a United Nation’s Security Council resolution that said no members should recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli Capital. Britain and France opposed the U.S. on that vote. And amid the pomp and ceremony Monday, instability and provocation apparently carried the day, as protests and many deaths drew the world’s attention.

The United States, by law, has recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s rightful capital for nearly a quarter century, since a November, 1995 Congressional vote. It is a law that presidents – Democrats and Republicans – have chosen not to enforce until President Trump declared it time to follow the law.</s>Jerusalem will always be the "eternal, undivided" capital of Israel, the country's Prime Minister has said as the new American Embassy was opened in the contested city. The controversial decision by Donald Trump has enraged Palestinians, who see it as clear US backing for Israeli rule over the whole city, whose eastern part Palestinians lay claim to and say has been annexed by Israel. Jerusalem is important in both Judaism and Islam. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third most holy site in Islam and is situated in the Old City of Jerusalem, while according to the Hebrew Bible, the Temple Mount or the first temple, was built in the city. Protests over the opening of the embassy have seen 52 Palestinians killed and 2,400 wounded, as Israeli troops opened fire on demonstrators at the border.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the embassy, Benjamin Netanyahu called it a "glorious" day and thanked President Trump for showing the "courage" to keep a key campaign promise. He continued that relations with the US have never been stronger and added that peace in the Middle East must be founded on what he said was the "truth" recognised by the US.

President Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner - who runs the administration's Middle East team - along with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, attended the embassy's opening. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr Kushner said that only President Trump had the courage to act on what America has wanted for a long time. "While presidents before him have backed down from their pledge to move the American Embassy once they were in office, this president delivered," Mr Kushner said. He continued: "When President Trump makes a promise, he keeps it."

According to the Israeli military, 40,000 protesters are taking part in demonstrations at 12 points along the Gaza border. The US said it chose the inauguration date to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel’s establishment. But it also marks the anniversary of what Palestinians call their “nakba”, or catastrophe, a reference to the uprooting of hundreds of thousands who fled or were expelled from what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s independence. The world's largest body of Muslim-majority nations says it "strongly rejects and condemns" the White House's "deplorable action" in moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said it considers the US' move an "illegal decision" and "an attack on the historical, legal, natural and national rights of the Palestinian people". It continued that the move also represents "an affront to international peace and security". The OIC said the US administration has "expressed utter disdain and disrespect to Palestinian legitimate rights and international law" and shown disregard toward the sentiments of Muslims, who value Jerusalem as home to one of Islam's holiest sites, the al-Aqsa mosque complex. The UK has also condemned the embassy move, with the Government saying they "disagreed with the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem and to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital before a final status agreement". Commenting on the deaths of Palestinian protesters, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister said she was "concerned by the reports of violence and loss of life in Gaza" and "urged calm and restraint to avoid actions destructive to peace efforts. "The UK remains firmly committed to a two-state solution with Jerusalem as a shared capital."</s>Donald Trump rededicated the United States' to its alliance with Israel on Monday as the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem officially opened.

Trump in a video address said that the U.S. will 'always be a great friend of Israel and a partner in the cause of freedom and peace' while honoring the nation and the city it claims as its capital as a 'testament to the unbreakable spirit of the Jewish people.'

'We extend a hand in friendship to Israel, the Palestinians and to all of their neighbors,' Trump said in a video address. 'May there be peace.'

In a tweet shortly after he said, 'Big day for Israel. Congratulations!'

Neither Trump nor Vice President Mike Pence were there see the realization of their campaign promise that they would relocate the embassy from Tel Aviv and recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Pence is headlining a celebratory event at the Israeli embassy in Washington, instead.

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, both White House advisers, were part of a delegation of senior officials that included Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin that made the trip.

The U.S. delegation had arrived Sunday evening in Jerusalem to mass protests over the foreign policy shift.

Israeli snipers have killed scores of Palestinians and wounded thousands more as 35,000 protesters rallied against the US Embassy opening in Jerusalem overseen by Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka.

A 14-year-old was among 52 shot dead along the Gaza border on what is already the deadliest single day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since a 2014 war between the Jewish state and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas.

At least 2,400 more have been injured with hundreds of them by live bullets, according to Gaza officials as the Palestinian government accused Israel of committing a 'terrible massacre' and Amnesty International called the bloodshed an 'abhorrent violation' of human rights.

Trump President tossed aside decades of precedent when he recognized the city as Israel's capital in December - a decision that sparked global outcry, Palestinian anger and exuberant praise from Israelis.

Russia said today it feared the embassy opening would increase tension in the Middle East while Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan warned the US it had forfeited its role as a mediator in the region and was now 'part of the problem rather than the solution'.

As deadly clashes continued, Trump said in a video address aired at the opening that the embassy has been a 'long time coming' and that the U.S. had 'failed to acknowledge the obvious' for many years. He added that 'today, we follow through on this recognition' and that the new embassy was opening 'many, many years ahead of schedule.'

Trump also said his 'greatest hope' is for peace and that he 'remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement'. His on-in-law Jared Kushner said the opening showed the US could be trusted and that 'when President Trump makes a promise, he keeps it'.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the international community must bring those responsible to justice, in a post on Twitter.

'Shocking killing of dozens, injury of hundreds by Israeli live fire in #Gaza must stop now,' Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein wrote in a message carried on the UN human rights Twitter account.

'The right to life must be respected. Those responsible for outrageous human rights violations must be held to account. The int'l community needs to ensure justice for victims.'

Inside the event, the president's daughter delivered an official welcome telling attendees after her father's video address: 'On behalf of the 45th President on [sic] the United States of America, we welcome you officially and for the first time to the Embassy of the United States here in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. Thank you.'

She joined Mnuchin in unveiling the embassy seal and plaque commemorating her father's involvement in the occasion.

Her husband, Jared, delivered a rare speech at the embassy opening, as well, in some of his most lengthy public remarks since joining his father-in-law's administration.

Acknowledging his wife in his remarks, he said, 'Ivanka, thank you for all the great work you do to help so many people in our country and throughout the world -- including me, so I love you.'

'I am so proud to be here today in Jerusalem, the eternal heart of the Jewish people, and I am especially honored to be here today as a representative of the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump,' he said.

Highlighting Trump's decision last week to leave the Iran nuclear agreement and the pledge he fulfilled in moving the embassy, Kushner said, 'While presidents before him have backed down from their pledge to move the American embassy, once in office this president delivered. Because when President Trump makes a promise, he keeps it.'

'The United States is prepared to support a peace agreement in every way that we can,' he told the audience. 'We believe that it is possible for both sides to gain more than they give.'

Kushner said the U.S. 'recognizes the sensitivity' around Jerusalem, home to three religions, including Islam.

'While the challenges to peace are numerous, I have personally seen that the determination of the leaders throughout the region and throughout the world remains steadfast,' Trump's chief peace negotiator said.

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'Today also demonstrates American leadership. By moving our embassy to Jerusalem, we have shown the world once again that the United States can be trusted,' he said.

'We stand with our friends and our allies, and above all else, we've shown that the United States of America will do what's right,' he said.

Netanyahu made a reference to the conflict on the Gaza border as he said in his speech that 'our brave soldiers are protecting the borders of Israel as we speak, we salute them all'.

Israel's prime minister said Jerusalem will always be the 'eternal, undivided' capital of Israel.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the new American Embassy in Jerusalem, Benjamin Netanyahu called it a 'glorious' day.

Netanyahu thanked Trump for showing the 'courage' to keep a key campaign promise and said relations with the U.S. have never been stronger. He said Mideast peace must be founded on what he says is the 'truth' recognized by the U.S.

'The truth is that Jerusalem has been and always will be the capital of the Jewish people, the capital of the Jewish state,' he said.

The Palestinians claim Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as their capital and have strongly objected to Trump's move.

As the ceremony took place this afternoon, the Israeli army revealed that warplanes had struck a Hamas facility in Gaza during bloody protests.

The military said it carried out five airstrikes after militants exchanged fire on three separate occasions with soldiers.

Brigadier General Ronen Manelis turn out by Monday afternoon was about 40,000. He said the army viewed that number as a 'failure for Hamas.'

He said the army noticed there were more women at the front of the protest than in past rallies and accused Hamas of paying people to protest.

This morning, the Israeli military said troops shot and killed three Palestinians who were trying to place an explosive device by the border fence in Gaza during mass protests.

The shooting in the southern Gaza town of Rafah came as the army said an Israeli aircraft had bombed a Hamas military post in the northern Gaza Strip after Israeli troops came under fire. No Israeli casualties were reported.

Amnesty International called the violence today an 'abhorrent violation' of human rights.

'We are witnessing an abhorrent violation of international law and human rights in Gaza.... This must end immediately,' the London-based human rights group said on Twitter.

'This is a violation of international standards, in some instances committing what appear to be wilful killings constituting war crimes,' Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa director Philip Luther said in a separate statement.

'As violence continues to spiral out of control, the Israeli authorities must immediately rein in the military to prevent the further loss of life and serious injuries.'

Amnesty made the statement 'responding to reports that dozens of Palestinians have been killed' in the protests over the US embassy move.

'The rising toll of deaths and injuries today only serves to highlight the urgent need for an arms embargo,' Luther added.

'While some protestors may have engaged in some form of violence, this still does not justify the use of live ammunition.'

The European Union's foreign policy chief is calling on Israel to respect the 'principle of proportionality in the use of force'.

Federica Mogherini said that all should act 'with utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life' and added that 'Israel must respect the right to peaceful protest.'

At the same time, she insisted that Hamas must make sure demonstrators in Gaza are peaceful and 'must not exploit them for other means.'

The ceremony to inaugurate the United States' controversial embassy got underway this afternoon with the US national anthem.

US ambassador to Israel David Friedman then spoke and President Donald Trump was given a standing ovation when he mentioned him. Friedman referred to the embassy's location as 'Jerusalem, Israel' drawing wild applause.

The dramatic scenes today came after al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri last night called for followers to carry out jihad against America.

In a new message, he said America's decision was evidence that negotiations and 'appeasement' have failed Palestinians as he urged Muslims carry out jihad against the United States.

Trump 'was clear and explicit, and he revealed the true face of the modern Crusade, where standing down and appeasement does not work with them, but only resistance through the call and jihad,' Zawahiri said, according to a transcript provided by the SITE monitoring agency.

It follows Trump's announcement last week that the United States is withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal and Israeli strikes two days later on dozens of Iranian targets in Syria.

Those strikes came after rocket fire toward Israeli forces in the occupied Golan Heights that Israel blamed on Iran.

The Trump administration has vowed to restart the moribund Middle East peace process but the embassy move has inflamed feelings across the globe.

Today US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo offered assurances of Washington's commitment to Middle East peace.

'We remain committed to advancing a lasting and comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians,' he said.

In his statement, however, Pompeo ignored the spiraling violence today and instead expressed pride in the embassy opening.

Monday's inauguration ceremony at 4pm included some 800 guests - though Trump himself did not attend - at what until now had been a US consulate building in Jerusalem.

US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan led the Washington delegation that included Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, both White House aides, as well as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Ivanka Trump earlier thanked Benjamin Netanyahu for the Israeli Prime Minister's hospitality at a welcome reception.

She posted on Twitter: 'Thank you Prime Minister @netanyahu & Mrs. Netanyahu for the warm welcome to Israel. I am honored to join you & the US Delegation in commemorating the dedication of our new @usembassyjlm & celebrating the friendship between our two countries.'

Mnuchin this morning posted a photo of himself on Twitter with a plaque dedicating a square outside the new US embassy in Jerusalem.

He wrote: 'Honored to receive plaque dedicating US Square in honor of @realDonaldTrump #USEmbassyJerusalem.'

Later, he said it was a U.S. 'national security priority' to relocate the Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Netanyahu - who has repeatedly called Trump's decision 'historic' - said: 'Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for the past 3,000 years,' he said.

'It's been the capital of our state for the past 70 years. It will remain our capital for all time.'

As tensions mounted today, the Arab League said it will hold emergency talks on Wednesday to discuss Washington's 'illegal' decision.

The meeting will focus on 'ways of countering the illegal decision by the United States to move the embassy to Jerusalem', the organisation's deputy secretary general for Palestinian affairs, Saeed Abu Ali, said.

He told reporters the permanent representatives of members of the Cairo-based Arab League would meet 'at the request of the state of Palestine'.

Police and the Israeli military had planned major security deployments today.

Around 1,000 police officers were positioned around the embassy and surrounding neighbourhoods for the inauguration, said spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

Israel's army said it would almost double the number of troops surrounding Gaza and in the occupied West Bank.

Early this morning, witnesses said Israeli drones dropped incendiary materials, setting ablaze tires that had been collected for use in a planned Gaza border protest.

Israelis began celebrating on Sunday, as tens of thousands of marched in Jerusalem, some holding American flags, to mark Jerusalem Day.

The annual event is an Israeli celebration of the 'reunification' of the city following the 1967 Six-Day War.

Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.

Beyond the disputed nature of Jerusalem, the date of the embassy move is also key. May 14 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel.

The following day, Palestinians mark the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, commemorating the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes in the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.

Palestinian protests are planned on both days.

There have already been weeks of protests and clashes along the Gaza border, with 54 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire there since March 30.

No Israelis have been wounded and the military has faced criticism over the use of live fire.

Israel says it only opens fire when necessary to stop infiltrations, attacks and damage to the border fence, while accusing Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the blockaded Gaza Strip, of seeking to use the protests as cover to carry out violence

Jerusalem's status is perhaps the thorniest issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

In the decades since 1967, international consensus has been that the city's status must be negotiated between the two sides, but Trump broke with that to global outrage.

He has argued that it helps make peace possible by taking Jerusalem 'off the table', but many have pointed out he has not announced any concessions in return from Israel.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday said the US was 'hard at work' on the peace process, which he declared was 'most decidedly not dead'.

Trump's initial decision led to a series of protests in various Middle Eastern and Muslim countries.

Meanwhile, Britain has no plans to move its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and still disagrees with the U.S. decision to do so, Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said on Monday.

'The PM said in December when the announcement was first made that we disagree with the U.S. decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem and recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital before a final status agreement.

The British embassy to Israel is based in Tel Aviv and we have no plans to move it,' the spokesman told reporters.

He was speaking on a day when the United States was due to open its embassy in Jerusalem, an event that has led to Palestinian protests.

Israeli gunfire killed two Palestinians and wounded at least 35 other protesters along the Gaza border on Monday, health officials said.

The US is not the first embassy to open in Jerusalem - and won't be the last When the United States opens its embassy in Jerusalem on Monday it will be the most high-profile diplomatic inauguration in the holy city, but not the first nor the last. Several countries, mainly African and Latin American, have previously had their ambassadors based in Jerusalem and some are expected to return. After the 1973 Yom Kippur war, Ivory Coast, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) and Kenya severed relations with Israel in protest and closed the doors of their embassies in Jerusalem. They later renewed relations but moved their missions to Tel Aviv. In 1980 Israel enacted a law declaring Jerusalem, including the mainly Palestinian eastern zone, its 'complete and united' capital. The United Nations Security Council branded the move illegal and adopted a resolution calling on 'those states that have established diplomatic missions at Jerusalem to withdraw such missions'. A Stars and Stripes flower bed outside the new US embassy compound in Jerusalem The Netherlands, Haiti and several Latin American countries complied. Costa Rica and El Salvador returned to Jerusalem in 1984, but left again in 2006. In the wake of Trump's announcement on December 6, some at least are heading back - and Israel is hoping for more. Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has said his country's embassy will move to Jerusalem on May 16, and Paraguay's foreign ministry said on Wednesday it would follow suit. The Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement that Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes would attend the opening ceremony, which would take place 'by the end of the month'. Romania's government, supported by the speaker of its parliament, has adopted a draft proposal to move its embassy, which would make it the first European Union member to do so. But Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who has frequently clashed with the government, opposes the move in the absence of an Israeli-Palestinian agreement, and has called for Prime Minister Viorica Dancila's resignation. On a visit to Jerusalem last month, Dancila acknowledged that at this stage she did not have 'support of all parties as we would wish' to carry out the embassy move. Czech President Milos Zeman has said he too would like to see his country's embassy transferred to Jerusalem. He did not reveal any firm plan, however, and the government has only announced the reopening of its honorary consulate in Jerusalem and the establishment of a Czech cultural centre in the city. On the other side of coin, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas his country would not move its Tel Aviv embassy to Jerusalem, official Palestinian media reported. The EU is sticking firmly to the international community's decades-long position that sovereignty in Jerusalem can only be decided by negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Shortly after the Trump announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to Brussels for talks with EU foreign ministers. 'I believe that all or most of the European countries will move their embassies to Jerusalem,' he told them, earning a chilly response from the bloc's foreign policy head Federica Mogherini. 'He can keep his expectations for others, because from the European Union member states' side this move will not come,' she said.</s>JERUSALEM: The US today opened its embassy in Jerusalem under a controversial move by President Donald Trump, amid a bloodbath right on the border with Gaza where Israeli soldiers shot dead at least 52 Palestinians in clashes, in the deadliest escalation of violence since 2014.

Trump announced the decision to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in December, when he formally recognised the holy city as the capital of Israel, breaking away from decades of US neutrality on the sensitive issue.

"Today, we officially opened the United States embassy in Jerusalem. Congratulations. It's been a long time coming," President Trump said in a pre-recorded video at the US embassy opening here.

"Israel is a sovereign nation, with the right like any other sovereign nation, to designate its capital," he said.

The American leader said the US remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement between Israel and Palestinians.

He said that his country supports status quo at the Temple Mount, a flashpoint of Israel-Palestinian conflict that houses the Western Wall (holiest site for the Jews) and the al-Aqsa mosque - known as Haram al-Sharif.

"This city and entire nation is a testament to the unbreakable spirit of the Jewish people," Trump emphasised.

Later, the US President tweeted, "Big day for Israel. Congratulations!"

The inauguration ceremony started with the singing of the American anthem and the presentation of colours by US Marines.

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman noted that Washington, which became the first country to recognise the State of Israel, has now taken "a step awaited, voted upon, and litigated and prayed for for all these years".

"Again the United States leads the way," in relocating the embassy, he said.

The move is the result of the "vision, the courage, and the moral clarity" of President Trump, to whom we own an "enormous and eternal debt of gratitude," the US envoy stressed.

"We have shown the world once again that the US can be trusted," said Jared Kushner, senior adviser to the President and Trump's son-in-law.

He also hailed Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the Iran nuclear deal, saying the President announced his intention to exit the "dangerous, flawed and one-sided Iran deal."

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked President Trump for keeping his promise. "Thank you, President Trump, for having the courage to keep your promise," he said.

"Thank you, President Trump for making the alliance between Israel and the United States stronger than ever," he said.

"You can only build peace on truth. And the truth is that Jerusalem has been, and always will be, the capital of the Jewish people, the capital of the Jewish state," he asserted.

A high-level American delegation that includes Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Kushner, senior adviser and first daughter Ivanka Trump, and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt attended the embassy opening ceremony.

Meanwhile, Palestinians, who protested massively along the Gaza border clashed with Israeli forces, leading to the death of at least 52 of them.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 52 people have been killed and more than 2,400 people suffered injuries.

Of the 52 killed today, at least six were below the age of 18, including one female. And, of more than 2,400 wounded, at least 200 were below the age of 18 and 11 were journalists.

The Palestinian protestors burned tyres and threw stones at the soldiers, trying to approach the fence.

The Palestinian Authority headed by President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and headquartered in the West Bank town of Ramallah accused Israel of committing a "terrible massacre" as the death toll soared.

Seeking international intervention, Palestinian government spokesman Yusuf al-Mahmoud said that it was an urgent requirement given "the terrible massacre in Gaza committed by the forces of the Israeli occupation against our heroic people".

The death toll made it the deadliest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 Gaza war.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a statement accusing Hamas, which controls Gaza, of "leading a terrorist operation" and inciting protesters who had amassed by the border fence with Israel to conduct what Israel described as terror attacks.

The IDF estimated that around 35,000 people -- who it describes as "violent rioters" -- had assembled in 12 different locations along the border fence between Gaza and Israel and thousands more were gathered in a tent city about a kilometer from the border.

The military said the protesters threw Molotov cocktails, burned tyres, and stones at Israeli soldiers positioned along the fence.

The State Department noted that the opening of the new embassy will take place on the 70th anniversary of American recognition of the State of Israel, the day of its founding and a day that Palestinians refer to as "the Catastrophe," as hundreds of thousands fled their homes.

The Embassy move is contentious for Palestinians, who hope to claim part of the city as their future capital, and for many in the Arab world, as it is home to some of the holiest sites in Islam. The city is also home to deeply holy sites for Jews and Christians.

The issue has been so thorny that international negotiators had left the question of Jerusalem to the final stages of any peace deal.</s>Thousands of Gaza residents headed toward the border with Israel on Monday, drawing Israeli fire in a potentially bloody showdown as Israel prepared for the festive inauguration of a new U.S. Embassy in contested Jerusalem.At least seven killed in the area of Monday's march, which was to be the biggest yet in a weeks-long campaign against a decade-old blockade of the territory.As crowds began to swell at midday, Israeli troops began firing from across the border fence. Palestinian health officials reported two people killed and at least 69 others wounded by live fire, nine seriously.The march was also directed at the inauguration of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem later Monday. The relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv has infuriated the Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as a future capital.Monday marked the biggest showdown in recent weeks between Israel's military and Gaza's Hamas rulers along the volatile border.It is the culmination of a campaign, led by the Islamic militant Hamas and fueled by despair among Gaza's 2 million people, to break the decade-old border blockade of the territory by Israel and Egypt. Since weekly border marches began in late March, 44 Palestinian protesters have been killed and more than 1,800 wounded by Israeli army fire.Hamas leaders have suggested a border breach is possible Monday, while Israel has warned it would prevent protesters from breaking through the barrier at any cost.Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, said the army had bolstered its front-line forces along the border, but also set up additional "layers" of security in and around neighboring communities to defend Israeli civilians in case of a mass breach. He said there already had been several "significant attempts" to break through the fence."Even if the fence is breached, we will be able to protect Israeli civilians from attempts to massacre or kidnap or kill them," he said.With Israel and Hamas digging in, there is growing concern about large numbers of casualties.The timing of the embassy move, and the marches, was deeply symbolic.The U.S. said it chose the date to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel's establishment.But it also marks the anniversary of what Palestinians call their "nakba," or catastrophe, a reference to the uprooting of hundreds of thousands who fled or were expelled from what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's independence.A majority of Gaza's 2 million people are descendants of refugees, and the protests have been billed as the "Great March of Return."In one of the border areas east of Gaza City, Mohammed Hamami, a 40-year-old civil servant, joined a crowd of hundreds of protesters, along with his mother and five children."Today we are here to send a message to Israel and its allies that we will never give up on our land," he said."We will cross the border and impose new realities like the reality Trump imposed in Jerusalem," he added, referring to President Donald Trump's decision in December to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and then move the U.S. Embassy there.Some protesters moved to within about 150 meters of the border fence. A reporter saw two men who tried to advance further being shot in the legs by Israeli troops.Clouds of black smoke from burning tires rose into the air. Earlier Monday, Israeli drones dropping incendiary material had pre-emptively set ablaze some of the tires collected in advance by activists.Protesters have used the thick smoke as cover against Israeli snipers perched on high sand berms on the other side of the border.Leaflets dropped over Gaza by army jets warned that those approaching the border "jeopardize" their lives. The warning said the army is "prepared to face all scenarios and will act against every attempt to damage the security fence or harm IDF soldiers or Israeli civilians."In Jerusalem, top Trump administration officials attended events linked to the inauguration of the embassy later Monday.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that it was a U.S. "national security priority" to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.Trump's decision to go forward with a campaign promise to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was welcomed by Israel and condemned by the Palestinians. Previous presidents had signed a waiver postponing the move, citing national security.Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community. The Palestinians seek the city's eastern half as the capital of a future state.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cut ties with the Trump administration and declared it unfit to remain in its role as the sole mediator in peace talks.Saeb Erekat, a senior Abbas aide, blasted the Trump administration Monday, saying Trump had violated a promise to hold off on moving the embassy to give peace talks a chance and that his administration is "based on lies."Erekat said the Trump administration has "become part of the problem, not part of the solution." He suggested Trump's Mideast team is unqualified, saying "the world needs real leaders, and those (White House officials) are real estate dealers, not leaders."Administration officials have dismissed Palestinian criticism, portraying the embassy opening as an essential step toward an eventual Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. However, they have not said how they will move forward without the Palestinians.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump's "bold decision" in upending decades of U.S. policy by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. "It's the right thing to do," a smiling Netanyahu told the jubilant crowd at a reception in Jerusalem late Sunday.Although Trump has said his declaration does not set the final borders of the city, his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital has been perceived by both Israel and the Palestinians as taking Israel's side in the most sensitive issue in their conflict. Only two countries, Guatemala and Paraguay, have said they will follow suit. Most of the world maintains embassies in Tel Aviv, saying the Jerusalem issue must first be resolved.In a reflection of the deep sensitivities, dozens of countries - including Britain, France and Germany - skipped a celebration Sunday night at the Israeli Foreign Ministry.Monday's opening will be attended by Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who both serve as White House advisers. Kushner leads the Trump Mideast team.</s>For Palestinians, US Embassy move a show of pro-Israel bias

JERUSALEM (AP) — Monday's opening of the U.S. Embassy in contested Jerusalem, cheered by Israelis as a historic validation, is seen by Palestinians as an in-your-face affirmation of pro-Israel bias by President Donald Trump and a new blow to dreams of statehood.

The festive inauguration helps harden Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' rejection of Washington as a future mediator in the conflict with Israel, likely ushering in a prolonged period of diplomatic vacuum in which other powers are unwilling or unable to step up as brokers.

Such paralysis and loss of hope have been major drivers of Palestinian unrest.

Underscoring the conflict's volatility, thousands of Gaza residents plan to march Monday toward Israel's border and possibly breach it in an attempt to break a decade-old blockade of their territory. Israel has vowed to stop any breach by force, raising the possibility of major bloodshed at a time when Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner preside over the embassy ceremony just 70 kilometers (45 miles) away.

Tel Aviv is the customary base for foreign embassies in Israel, with the U.S. and other countries having avoided Jerusalem because of its contested status. Over the years, a few countries set up embassies in Jerusalem and then left it again. From 2006 until this week, the city didn't host a single foreign embassy.

Israel captured east Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. It annexed the eastern sector to its previously declared capital in the western part of the city, a move not recognized at the time by the U.S. and most other nations.

The fate of the city has been a central issue in years of intermittent U.S.-brokered negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, taking a harder line than two predecessors, has said he won't give up any part of Jerusalem, home to 883,000 people, 38 percent of them Palestinians. Abbas wants east Jerusalem to be the capital of a Palestinian state that would include the other war-won territories.

In December, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, saying he was simply acknowledging reality, while omitting any mention of Palestinian claims to the city. Trump said at the time he is not taking a position on the boundaries of Israeli sovereignty that are to be determined in negotiations. But just a month later Trump told Netanyahu he had taken Jerusalem "off the table" and that "we don't have to talk about it anymore."

Abbas, who for years had banked on the U.S. to persuade Israel to cede land for a Palestinian state, felt betrayed and halted contacts with the Trump administration.

Abbas recently laid out conditions for coming back to the table that — based on Trump's past statements — seem unlikely to be met. Abbas says the U.S. must explicitly support a two-state solution, recognize east Jerusalem in principle as a Palestinian capital and allow other powers to join as mediators.

In the meantime, Abbas vows to reject any U.S. proposal for an Israeli-Palestinian agreement, arguing that there's nothing to talk about because of the U.S. policy shift on Jerusalem and its failure to rein in Israeli settlement expansion on lands sought for a Palestinian state.

"We will not accept the deal," Abbas told a PLO convention two weeks ago, referring to the plan reportedly being prepared by Trump's Kushner-led Mideast team.

It's unclear when or if the U.S. plan will be released. No details of the proposal have been confirmed, though Palestinian officials, citing information from Saudi intermediaries, suspect it's an offer for a Gaza-based mini-state with parts of the West Bank and a small foothold in Jerusalem.

Abbas, a staunch opponent of violence, hasn't offered an alternative to statehood through negotiations with Israel or found a world power willing to challenge Washington.

European foreign ministers, while opposed to the U.S. policy shift, have urged Abbas to give Washington's peace plan a chance. Even European criticism of the U.S. Embassy move will likely be diluted, with Hungary, the Czech Republic and Romania reportedly having blocked a joint EU statement on the issue.

Monday is bound to be one of the worst days in office for Abbas since the Islamic militant Hamas seized Gaza in a 2007 takeover. The 83-year-old appears politically weak and out of ideas, at a time when Hamas is seen as taking charge by leading mass protests against Israel.

Abbas is also increasingly at odds with his own public, especially the younger generation, where support for establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel — the solution backed by the international community — is steadily declining because of growing disillusionment.

Only 35 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 22 still favor a two-state solution, compared to almost 60 percent in the 40-49 bracket, said pollster Khalil Shikaki, whose surveys have an error margin of 3 percentage points. Among the young, almost one-third support the idea of equal rights for Arabs and Jews in a single state, while 58 percent — the highest result in any age group — demand a return to an armed uprising.

Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem has enjoyed bi-partisan support in Congress, as expressed in the 1995 bill requiring its relocation, though until now presidents used a waiver every six months allowing them to put off the move on security grounds.

It would be politically difficult for any Trump successor to move the embassy back to Tel Aviv, though the next administration could theoretically still try to broker talks on the future of Jerusalem, said Nathan Thrall of the International Crisis Group think tank.

Yet the partition option may no longer exist a few years from now as settlements expand. Some 600,000 Israelis already live on war-won lands, including several tens of thousands in the West Bank's heartland, east of the Israeli separation barrier.

Veteran Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath thinks there's still hope, citing long-term trends he believes favor the Palestinians, including growing disagreements between the Trump administration and traditional U.S. allies, and demographic pressure on Israel as the numbers of Arabs and Jews in the Holy Land approach parity.

He hopes for a change of direction by Washington, particularly if Republicans suffer a setback in November's midterm elections. "Rejecting Trump's policy and afterward rejecting Trump himself would open the door for change," Shaath told reporters as he led a field trip to the embassy site last week.

As their bus drove past the compound, the journalists took photos of workers planting flowers in the area and paired Israeli and American flags fluttering from electricity poles.</s>Alan Dershowitz isn't an official member of President Trump's legal team, but the Harvard Law professor did score an invite to the historic opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem Monday.

Dershowitz, who has been among Trump's staunchest defenders of the Russia probe on Cable news, could be seen in the audience for the event, which was attended by Ivanka Trump, Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, and other notables.

He was seated next to former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman.

Dershowitz tweeted last month about his thoughts on 'why our desire to 'get Trump' risks the death of civil liberties,' and complained in an op-ed following the FBI raid on Trump lawyer Michael Cohen that 'witnesses are owned lock, stock and barrel by the prosecution' and can be pressured to 'flip.'

Another leading lawyer, Abbe Lowell, was also spotted at the event. He could be seen standing and clapping at the start of the ceremony marking the controversial move of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv.

Lowell represented Kushner as he navigated congressional Russia probes and faced issues with his failure to disclose dozens of foreign contacts on government forms.

He is considered one of the top criminal defense lawyers in Washington. He didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Israel.

Jay Sekulow, who is one of President Trump's outside lawyers contending with the Russia probe, also made the trek to the Holy Land. He posted about the trip on the web site for his American Center for Law and Justice.

Businessman Sheldon Adelson arrives ahead of the inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018. At least thirty-seven Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire Monday as tens of thousands protested and clashes erupted along the Gaza border against the US transfer of its embassy to Jerusalem, after months of global outcry, Palestinian anger and exuberant praise from Israelis over President Donald Trump's decision tossing aside decades of precedent

His presence brought to three the number of top Trump-connected lawyers on hand for the event. The president himself sent a video message and dispatched Vice President Mike Pence.

'Today the U.S. embassy officially moves to Jerusalem – a victory decades in the making,' Sekulow wrote.

'I am in Jerusalem for the historic occasion. I can tell you that the United States recognition of the reality that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the State of Israel will go down as historically very significant.'

Sekulow argued a landmark case for Jews for Jesus and affiliates with the group and is a self-described Messianic Jew.

He can be seen on YouTube where playing drums as the Jay Sekulow Band plays a song called Hope of Jerusalem.
Six-time Israeli Premier League champion Beitar Jerusalem F.C. officially renames itself Beitar Trump Jerusalem F.C. for U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to move the embassy.