FILE PHOTO: The U.S. national flag flutters at the U.S. Embassy in TelAviv, Israel December 6, 2017. (Reuters photo)
JERUSALEM, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. embassy will move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by May 14, in honor of the 70th anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence, the Israeli media Friday quoted a top Israeli minister as saying.
According to Israeli media, the Minister of Transportation and Intelligence Israel Katz tweeted on Friday saying, "I would like to congratulate Donald Trump, the President of the U.S. on his decision to transfer the U.S. embassy to our capital on Israel's 70th Independence Day."
It seems that the opening of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem will be earlier than what had been expected. The U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said the move would take place by the end of 2019, when he gave a speech in the Knesset during his visit in Israel last month.
Media also quoted two Trump administration officials as saying that the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem will open in May 2018 to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel declaring independence. At first, the embassy will operate out of the U.S.'s current consular premises in Arnona, south Jerusalem, reports said.
Waves of violence between Israel and Palestine have took place and the tension has turned worse since the U.S. President Donald Trump's December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.