The US State Department announced Feb. 23 that the US Embassy in Israel would be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in mid-May, to coincide with Israel’s 70th Independence Day. The Israeli Embassy in the United States cited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reaction to the decision: “This is a great day for the people of Israel. … This decision will turn Israel’s 70th Independence Day into an even bigger celebration.”
Even as the temporary embassy site (until a permanent facility is built) is being inaugurated, the Palestinians will be marking the 70th anniversary of their annual Nakba Day commemorating the “catastrophe” that befell them when Israel was established in 1948. Just as Netanyahu noted the added importance of this day for Israel in light of the US Embassy move, so presumably will the Palestinians’ sense of loss be intensified this year by great anger at the decision.
Saeb Erekat, the secretary-general of the PLO Executive Committee and former chief Palestinian negotiator with Israel and the United States, claims the American decision to relocate the embassy during the very month that Palestinians will mark their 70th Nakba Day is “a flagrant violation of international law and agreements” with Israel. Indeed, Erekat’s comment reflects the more militant line he has recently adopted compared with that of the Palestinian leadership — for instance telling US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley to "shut up.” Nonetheless, other top officials in the Palestinian Authority (PA) are also expressing rage over what they view as repeated humiliation by the administration of President Donald Trump, which they accuse of lacking diplomatic integrity.
A member of the Palestinian Committee for Interaction with Israeli Society, speaking on condition of anonymity, described to Al-Monitor the pervasive sentiment within the PA. “Not only have they spit in our face, but in order to complete our humiliation they are now moving the embassy on Nakba Day and sticking their finger deep into the eyes of the Palestinians and of Abu Mazen [PA President Mahmoud Abbas].”
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