Vice President Mike Pence said the U.S. Embassy would move to Jerusalem by no later than the end of next year during an address to Israel\u2019s parliament.<\/p>\n
In his address Monday, the first by a U.S. vice president to the Knesset, Pence also called the Iran nuclear deal a \u201cdisaster\u201d and said \u201cthe United States of America will no longer certify this ill-conceived agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
As he began to speak, Arab-Israeli lawmakers from the Joint Arab List party began waving signs protesting the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel\u2019s capital, leading to their expulsion from the Knesset chamber.<\/p>\n
The United States now has its embassy in Tel Aviv, like other nations with embassies in Israel.<\/p>\n
Pence called the decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel\u2019s capital \u201cin the best interest\u201d of peace, saying that \u201cfact is the only basis for peace.\u201d He stressed that such recognition does not change the status quo arrangements on holy sites in the city and that the United States has not taken a position on final status issues such as borders.<\/p>\n
Pence reaffirmed that \u201cif both sides agree, the United States of America will support a two-state solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
He praised Israel for being willing to come to the peace table and said the U.S. \u201cstrongly urge(s) the Palestinian leadership to return to the table. Peace can only come through dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pence asserted that \u201cradical Islamic terrorism knows no boundaries\u201d and called to destroy ISIS at its source. He added that the United States has directly committed more than $110 million to help Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East to rebuild after years of repressive wars, and called on Israel and others to join the effort to restore a \u201crich diversity\u201d to the region.<\/p>\n
He vowed that the United States would band together with Israel to fight Iran and said the United States would never allow Iran to achieve a nuclear weapon. He also threatened, \u201cUnless the Iran nuclear deal is fixed, President Trump has said the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pence had a message for the people of Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are your friends,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd the day is coming when you will be free of the evil regime that suffocates your dreams and buries your hopes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pence cited passages from the Bible and alluded to biblical history, as well as the parallels between the founding of the United States and Israel, many times during his 30-minute address.<\/p>\n
He praised Israel for returning \u201cto the land which your fathers possessed\u201d and noted that all major religions claim Abraham as a forefather.<\/p>\n
In talking about Israel\u2019s 70th independence celebrations, Pence recited the Shehechiyanu prayer in broken Hebrew, earning him one of at least a dozen standing ovations from the lawmakers.<\/p>\n
Among those in the Knesset chamber for the speech were the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman; Israel\u2019s ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer; and the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, Jason Greenblatt.<\/p>\n
At the end of his address, Pence said: \u201cMay God bless the State of Israel and all who call these lands their home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prior to his speech to the Knesset, Pence met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister\u2019s Office in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
Following the meeting, in remarks to reporters, Pence called it \u201cmy great honor, on behalf of the president of the United States, to be in Israel\u2019s capital, Jerusalem, following on the president\u2019s historic decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that in addition to speaking to Netanyahu about Israel\u2019s shared goals and common interests, \u201cI also am here hopeful, hopeful that we are at the dawn of a new era of renewed discussions to achieve a peaceful resolution to the decades-long conflict that has affected this region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Netanyahu thanked Pence and President Donald Trump for their decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Vice President Mike Pence said the U.S. Embassy would move to Jerusalem by no later than the end of next year during an address to Israel\u2019s parliament. In his address Monday, the first by a U.S. vice president to the Knesset, Pence also called the Iran nuclear deal a \u201cdisaster\u201d and said \u201cthe United States […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3132],"tags":[301,129,1377,1375,300],"yoast_head":"\n