Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal slams US embassy move

Former Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal on Saturday condemned the US decision of moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May 2018.

Washington announced on Friday that it would move its embassy on May 14, to coincide with the day the state of Israel was established and officially recognised by the US administration in 1948. It will also coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe).

“We are against this decision and we will not allow it to take place. We will oppose any resistance to the Palestinian cause,” Meshaal said, speaking at the War, Migration and Poverty symposium organised by Istanbul-based Fatih Sultan Mehmet University, adding:

We hope Turkey will put pressure on the US

“Turkey helps Gaza, Al-Quds [Jersualem], Iraq, Myanmar and many countries in Africa. I believe Turkey will get something good through these efforts in return. We saw that they got Allah’s help and blessings on July 15, 2016.”

Turkey thwarted a coup attempt on July 15, although 250 people were killed and nearly 2,200 injured that evening.

The decision of the US, which will dispatch its ambassador to Israel and staff to Jerusalem, came after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson approved the final security plan for the relocation late Thursday, even though Vice President Mike Pence said earlier it would happen by the end of 2019.

The current embassy complex in Tel Aviv will still be in service as the US consulate and will become a branch of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.

Read: Saudi offers Abu Dis as future capital of Palestine

According to US media reports, the US ambassador to Israel has received many offers from American Jewish donors who say they are willing to fund the new building for the project.

US President Donald Trump has also considered accepting donations from well-known casino owner and business magnate Sheldon Adelson, who comes from a Jewish family.

Additionally, according to the reports, the reason behind the donations is to make it more difficult to reverse Trump’s decision to move the embassy in the future.

The Palestinian territories have remained tense since early last December, when Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.