hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 2:00pm. the palestinian government accuses the israeli security forces of a "horrible massacre". with reports of at least 37 dead and a thousand injured, tensions rise as the united states opens its new embassy injerusalem. it's happening now — we'll be live there injust a moment. the head of mi5 warns of more terror threats from is, and accuses the kremlin of aggressive and pernicious actions by its military and intelligence services. high levels of cyber attacks, military force, and criminal thuggery, is what is meant these days by the term "hybrid threats". former foreign secretary david miliband urges all parties to come together to prevent a "hard brexit". scotland's first minister calls the government's stance an "absurdity". children in some nursery classes are to be weighed every year, as part of a new scheme to reduce obesity. coming up on afternoon live all the sport — hugh.

good afternoon. really busy sporting weekend and we will reflect on a fantastic premier league season and also what is next for the top clubs? mauricio pochettino urging spurs to ta ke mauricio pochettino urging spurs to take risks before he sits down to discuss his future. more on that at 2:30pm. thanks hugh. tomasz schafernaker has all the weather. not a lot to look at because the weather is looking fine, it will not change much in the next few days. we will talk about the royal wedding in half an hour. laughter great, look forward to that! thanks thomasz. .. also coming up — stop the anti—social behaviour. a call for more uniformed security at britain's horse races, after another weekend of violence, this time at ascot. hello everyone — this is afternoon live.

i'm simon mccoy. at least 37 palestinians have died and hundreds have been injured, according to palestinian officials, during protests on the border between the gaza strip and israel. they're reported to have been short and killed by israeli forces as they protested against the opening of the united states‘ new embassy in jerusalem. and that ceremony has just got underway. these are the live pictures as it begins. # and the rockets‘ red glare the bombs bursting in air # gave proof through the night that our flag was still there # 0 say does that star—spangled banner yet wave # o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? #

applause the presentation of colours by us marines — and the singing of the us national anthem. ivanka trump, her husband jared kushner, next to president netanyahu. now kushner, next to president neta nyahu. now the kushner, next to president netanyahu. now the opening remarks... this event is being somewhat overshadowed by events on the west bank, with reports of israeli forces opening fire on protesters there. ladies and gentlemen, please join me

protesters there. ladies and gentlemen, pleasejoin me now protesters there. ladies and gentlemen, please join me now in welcoming david friedman. please be seated. applause distinguished guests and dear friends. tammy and i welcome you to the opening and dedication of the united states embassy injerusalem, israel. applause applause

on this exact day 70 years ago, at almost this exact time, david bengurion declared israel's independence. just 11 minutes later, president harry truman caused the united states to be the very first nation to recognise the reborn state of israel. he later regretted that he waited so long. 70 years since that memorable event, almost to the minute, the united states finally ta kes minute, the united states finally takes the next step. a step awaited, voted upon, litigated and prayed for

all these years. today we open the united states embassy injuries, israel. applause again, the united states leads the way as the first nation to do so. so many have worked so hard and for so long for this day to come, and they all deserve our thanks. but make no mistake, today's historic event is attributed to the vision, the courage, and the moral clarity of warm person to whom we owe an warm person to whom we owe an enormous and eternal debt of gratitude, president donald j enormous and eternal debt of gratitude, president donaldj trump. applause we have among us an extraordinary

gathering of american patriots and israeli leaders. i'd like to recognise a few of them. from our host country, the president of the state of israel, his excellency reuven rivlin, and we wish our best to your wife. the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu prime minister of israel, benjamin neta nyahu and prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu and his wife. the mayor of jerusalem. the speaker in israel.

the leader of the opposition. the deputy chiefjustice of the israel supreme court. the head of the israel defence force. the ashkenazi chief rabbi of israel. the former chief rabbi of israel. the former chief rabbi of israel. the former chief rabbi of israel. and all the ministers, cabinet members, members of the idf, mayors and religious leaders. it is my pleasure to welcome the leader of the president's delegation, the deputy

secretary of state, john president's delegation, the deputy secretary of state, joth sullivan. and the 77th secretary of the treasury, steven mnuchin. president trump's senior adviser, jared kushner. president trump's daughter and senior adviser, ivanka trump. president trump's special representative for international negotiations, jason greenblatt. the united states ambassador to italy, lou isenberg. assistant secretary of state nicole nason bust up and acting assistant secretary of state david satterfield. and from the legislative branch, we have four senators whose support for israel is

legendary. senator lindsey graham. senator ted cruz. senator dean heller. and senator mike leigh. thank you for coming. from our house of representatives, a delegation led by congressmenjo wilson. congressmen tom rice. congressman steve knight. congressman dennis ross. congressman mario. congressmen jody heise. congressman scott taylor. congressman louise ellman. congas and george holding. and congressmen ron desa ntis. just last year, congress man desantis stood on the podium here injerusalem and made a passionate case that this day

would come. and so it has. i would also like to welcome the governor of my home state of florida, who has also been a strong advocate for jerusalem, governor rick scott. in 1995, thejerusalem embassy act became law, voted in favour overwhelmingly by both houses of congress, and led by a former senator who is here today, senator joseph lieberman. that law, which was reaffirmed just last year by a vote of 90—0 in the senate declared jerusalem to be the capital of israel and mandated the move of the embassy. 23 long years have passed since the transfer of the embassy became the law of the land. but today we keep our promise to the

american people, and we extend to israel the same right we extend to every other nation. the right to designate its capital city. a capital city, i should add, that houses all three seats of government, with a 3000 —year—old history, dating back to the when king david made jerusalem history, dating back to the when king david madejerusalem the capital of ancient israel. jerusalem has inspired americans since well before the founding of our republic. john winthrop, in 1630, as he approached massachusetts bay, spoke of his quest to build the new jerusalem, as a city on a hill. a phrase later expanded by president reagan to be a shining city on a hill. the united states established

its consulate injuries for them in 1844, 104 years before the birth of the state of israel. and president lincoln am relaxing for the first time in years, as the civil war came to an end, told his wife mary, that it was finally time for him to take some rest, and he expressed his hope and desire to visit the holy city of jerusalem. many say that those were his last words as he sat next to her in ford's theatre. i think president lincoln is smiling today as another great republican, donald j lincoln is smiling today as another great republican, donaldj trump, opens our embassy in the city that lincoln admired so much. i would like to thank the faith leaders who are here, and the entire

faith community for their support. i would like to now call upon two of them. doctor robert jeffers would like to now call upon two of them. doctor robertjeffers of the first baptist church of dallas, along with the rabbi, to offer some words of inspiration. heavenly father, we come... studio: as the blessing ceremony gets under way, we will show you what happened on the border with gaza earlier this afternoon. protests there at today's ceremony, that have resulted in a number of deaths. the latest casualties we are hearing, 37. with 1300 wounded. that's according to the palestinian government, their

health ministry. the scenes that the palestinian government are calling akin toa palestinian government are calling akin to a massacre. you can see the events at a ceremony on the left, and pictures from gaza that are coming to us now. you were born in gaza and have witnessed the opening of this embassy site in jerusalem, witnessed the opening of this embassy site injerusalem, and what are your thoughts? i am sad, to be honest. i am sad because i can see my people massacred. those people in gaza, they are unarmed. why the israelis and americans are celebrating an historic day, it's a miserable day for the palestinian people. you can see even when they protest without a knife, without a stone, with nothing, just to raise their voice, here we are, at the

refugee camps, under sanctions. we don't have water or electricity or medicine. imagine 2 million people ina cage medicine. imagine 2 million people in a cage of 150 square miles. when they want to express their anger towards the establishing, the moving of the american embassy from television to jerusalem, of the american embassy from television tojerusalem, look of the american embassy from television to jerusalem, look at that, they are facing live ammunition. you mentioned 37 people killed up until now. before that around 50 people were killed. even when they want to demonstrate peacefully against something which is against international law, they dead. israel has argued that the protesters are threatening to break through the border and that is why they are present in such numbers. simon, even if they broke through the borders, if they do so, and if they are unarmed and express their

feeling, why don't you prevent them by other ways? they are not dangerous. they don't have arms or guns to kill israelis. you can use water cannon against them. why live ammunition? this is completely on allowed by international law. you are committing a massacre here. those people are allowed to express their feeling, what is those people are allowed to express theirfeeling, what is happening those people are allowed to express their feeling, what is happening to their feeling, what is happening to their cause. i am surprised why the israelis are allowed to use live ammunition against demonstrators. do we use them in this country? do we use them in other countries? there are peaceful ways to face peaceful demonstration, and look at what has happened. we heard the ceremony from the ambassador, this is a moment of celebration for israel, marking the

70th anniversary for them, but that anniversary holds a very different meaning for palestinians. anniversary holds a very different meaning for palestinianslj anniversary holds a very different meaning for palestinians. i was born two years after those events. i was born ina two years after those events. i was born in a refugee camp. my people stayed in the refugee camps waiting for the international community to ta ke for the international community to take them back to their own villages and territories. it didn't happen. they consider this move from the americans, a violation of the peace treaty and international law. jerusalem should be left until the last stage of initiation. after that there should be some sort of resolution with israel because it is pa rt resolution with israel because it is part of the palestinian future, the two state solution indicates that clearly. the americans say there is

no agreement, there is no respect for international law. why britain did not take this step, why france didn't take the same step. i believe this is the american president, blowing up the whole peace process. the two state solution, and putting the whole region on fire. this is the whole region on fire. this is the problem. palestinians are dating and protesting, you have told us all the time to respect international law. if the leader of the free world does not respect international law, who will respect it? we have heard of the symbolism ofjerusalem for israelis. what's the symbolism for palestinians? palestinians consider jerusalem as the capital, as it used to be. it was occupied in 1967, and it is considered occupied territory. the international community said nobody should touch this and

jerusalem should be kept under that motion of occupied territory, occupied capital. palestinians, whether they are christian or muslim, it is a wholly state for them. a holy capital and holy city for everybody. they considerjesus christ a palestinian. the problem is, why the united states goes to this extent of provocation for everybody. why do they do it? what will they gain? simply because they are listening to the israelis, that's all. don't go away, thank you. we can go to correspondent tom bateman at the ceremony. the us ambassador comes back to the podium. representatives of the trump

administration enjoying this moment. they are. this was always going to bea they are. this was always going to be a moment of celebration. it's a move that israel has warmly welcomed, has embraced, because for the israelis this is recognition of what they see as their undivided capital ofjerusalem. when president trump made the announcement in december, the speed with which the embassy move has taken place, it's something they have celebrated. but ever there was a picture of the two realities of this conflict, it is well this is all happening here, there are the events in gaza taking place. we now up to 40 people have been killed by israeli troops as protests have been taking place over the last six or seven weeks. already up the last six or seven weeks. already up to that point, more than 45 palestinians have died. israel says it is trying to protect its fence from what it says is potential infiltration from gaza, trying to protect communities on the other

side of the boundary. we have been discussing that in the studio. the point has been made, that you don't necessarily need live ammunition to stop protesters crossing a border. what does israel say to that? israel says it uses crowd dispersal means, tear gas and other options before it says it uses live ammunition as a last resort. that has led to much criticism from human rights groups, both internationally, and some within israel itself. the israeli defence forces and military saying that today there was an attempt by three people at the southern gaza strip, they claim, to lay an explosive device, and they say this is the seriousness with which they have to take those events. i suspect we will see more of that, notjust today, but tomorrow. while these events a re today, but tomorrow. while these events are happening on the

anniversary, the 70th anniversary of the creation of the state of israel, it comes on the eve of what the palestinians called their nakba day, their historical dispossession. we are hearing the death toll in gaza has risen to 41. we will hear a video message from donald trump in a moment. let's face it, he's at the heart of the ceremony, even though heart of the ceremony, even though he is not there. it was december last year when he said the us officially recognised jerusalem as the capital of israel. and then the process began to move the embassy. the move itself is pretty much symbolic. the us ambassador david friedman is moving his office here, and afairly friedman is moving his office here, and a fairly small staff. the americans say they are trying to change the parameters of the peace process. they say that in two decades nothing has changed. they

believe everything tried up to this point has failed. so one of the justifications, and we heard us ambassador to israel david friedman say at the weekend, he believed this approach would remove leveraged from the palestinians, and he believed the palestinians, and he believed the palestinians, and he believed the palestinians had in effect been able to exercise a veto over the official position of israel's capital. the palestinians say in response to that, that the us is therefore complicit in a violation of international law. they accuse donald trump of spreading anarchy. we can rejoin the ceremony with the deputy secretary of state john sullivan, ending his remarks. we will be rejoined by ambassador david friedman, who will then introduce a video from the president of the united states. we can rejoin proceedings. as he sought to make the president's pledge of the movement of our embassy a reality. moving to make our bonds even

stronger from this very place. the united states is committed to israel. we are committed to our alliance and we are committed to building a more peaceful, more prosperous future together. may god bless the us and israel alliance on this historic day, and i thank you for letting me be a part of it. applause thank you, mr deputy secretary. president trump, who made this all a reality, cannot be here today, but did record a message to honour us at the ceremony. please watch and listen. exactly 70 years ago, the united states, under president harry truman, became the first nation to recognise the state of israel. today, we officially open the united states embassy injuries 11. congratulations. it's been a long time coming. almost immediately

after declaring statehood in 1948, israel designated the city of jerusalem as its capital. the capital the jewish people established in ancient times. so important. today, jerusalem is the seat of israel's government. it is the home of the israeli legislature and the israeli supreme court, and israel's prime minister and president. israel is a sovereign nation with a right like every other sovereign nation, to determine its own capital. yet for many years, we failed to acknowledge the obvious, the plain reality, that israel's capital is jerusalem. on the plain reality, that israel's capital isjerusalem. on december six, 2017 at my direction, the united states finally an officially recognised jerusalem as the true capital of israel. today we follow through on this recognition and open

our embassy in the historic and sacred land ofjerusalem. and we are opening it many, many years ahead of schedule. as i said in december, our greatest hope is for peace. the united states remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement, and we continue to support the status quo at jerusalem's holy sites, including at the temple mount, and this city and its entire nation is a testament to the unbreakable spirit of thejewish people. the united states will a lwa ys people. the united states will always be a great friend of israel and a partner in the cause of freedom and peace. we wish ambassador friedman good luck as he ta kes ambassador friedman good luck as he takes up his office in this beautifuljerusalem embassy, and we

extend a hand of friendship to israel, to palestinians, and all their neighbours. may there be peace. may god bless this embassy. may god bless all who serve there, and may god bless the united states of america. thank you. applause it's now my great honour to call upon treasury secretary steven mnuchin and senior adviser ivanka trump, two respectively unveil the

seal of the united states embassy, and to read the dedication. applause on behalf of the 45th president of the united states of america, we welcome new officially, and for the first time, to the embassy of the united states, here injerusalem, the capital of israel. thank you. applause thank you mr secretary and thank you

ivanka. in 1980 a jew of 19 was married to a jewish woman and 17 in ethiopia and that night the married couple shared theirjewish heritage and set foot on a lengthy trek... studio: where this ceremony is taking place, it houses the consulate section and it will become the temporary embassy site but in the temporary embassy site but in the longer term the embassy is expected to be built on a much larger adjacent site of the

diplomatic hotel which was bought in 2014 and is likely to become the site of the american embassy to israel. we can rejoin our guest. donald trump says this will help in the long search for peace in the region. have you seen any evidence of that? no, i see the opposite, to be honest. jerusalem is part of the final talks between the israeli and the palestinian and the palestinian gave up 80% of their history in palestine and they accepted the self—rule, and this needs security forces to protect the israelis. look what happened. the american presidentjust said to everybody, go to hell, i'm going to move our embassy to jerusalem and to hell, i'm going to move our embassy tojerusalem and it means

jerusalem is out of question, this is now the united capital of israel and there will not be any talk about it, so any peace talks will be com pletely it, so any peace talks will be completely meaningless for the palestinian and the arab countries. why he is doing this provocation, i believe the peace process is now dead completely. because no palestinian will dare to negotiate any peaceful settlement without actuallyjerusalem being on the table, this is the problem. mr trump saying no jerusalem, go table, this is the problem. mr trump saying nojerusalem, go to hell, this is his message to the palestinians. the assumption is once the us takes this initiative, other countries will follow? that is what the israelis want but today we had the israelis want but today we had the british government saying, they are not going to move their embassy from tel aviv and the same thing

with france and most of europe, or the european countries, as well, they will follow the british example -- all they will follow the british example —— all of the european countries. they know it would be a dreadful move towards the peace process and it would be the end of the peace process because the europeans have sponsored this peace process and they were pushing the palestinians to make this concession in order to reach an independent palestinian state adjacent to the israeli state so they can live together. and to find a solution to thejerusalem problem, but president trump has com pletely problem, but president trump has completely different views. thanks for joining completely different views. thanks forjoining us. we are going to rejoin the ceremony. the singer there is singing the song hallelujah by leonard cohen. # i've seen this room and i walked

this floor # i used to live alone before i knew you # and love is not a victory march # and love is not a victory march # it's so cold and it's a broken halleluja h # hallelujah hallelujah # hallelujah hallelujah # hallelujah # hallelujah

# hallelujah... # hallelujah # hallelujah #. applause studio: i'm now joined applause studio: i'm nowjoined in the studio by michael freeman. the civil society counsellor at the israeli embassy in london. what is your feeling about this? thank you for

having me. it's a positive day for israel and the region and i think what we are seeing now is a move that recognises the reality, jerusalem has been the israeli capital since 1949 and this move recognises that. a positive day for the region, and the latest figure is 41 dead... your president now comes to the stage. i will talk about gaza ina to the stage. i will talk about gaza in a moment but now we can listen to the president of israel. prime minister benjamin netanyahu knew —— and his wife, secretary of treasury, deputy secretary of state john

sullivan, jared kushner and ivanka trump, ambassador, and mrs freeman... senators and congressmen, members of the distinguished delegation coming from the united states, our chief rabbis, ministers and members, head of the opposition, commissioner of the police, ambassador distinguished guests... ourfeet were ambassador distinguished guests... our feet were standing within your gates in the gates ofjerusalem, the

capital of israel. applause jerusalem whose faith we swore to keep, jerusalem who we never forgot and never will forget. for 3000 yea rs and never will forget. for 3000 years the jewish and never will forget. for 3000 years thejewish people kept the faith injerusalem years thejewish people kept the faith in jerusalem and years thejewish people kept the faith injerusalem and for 3000 yea rs we faith injerusalem and for 3000 years we prayed forjerusalem and since the establishment of the state of israel 70 years ago, jerusalem has been the capital of israel and the obvious as president trump has said, the obvious should be said from time to time, even could be written from time to time. jerusalem is the heart of sovereignty of the

state of israel. yes, president trump, jerusalem is home to the president of israel, jerusalem is home to the government of israel, jerusalem is the home to the parliament of israel, jerusalem is home to the supreme court of israel. the state of israel's commitment to jerusalem is not only a commitment to the history of the jewish jerusalem is not only a commitment to the history of thejewish people but is also a commitment to all residents injerusalem, but is also a commitment to all residents in jerusalem, all the people ofjerusalem. jerusalem is a microcosm of our ability, dues and arabs, to live together. the unity ofjerusalem is also seen in that or living in the city, our equal. and

as of this happy day, jerusalem is also the embassy to israel of the united states of america. thanks god. the american congress has for many years recognised jerusalem as the capital of israel and i want to thank the many members of the congress and senate, democrats and republicans, republicans and democrats alike, for the love and support for israel. in every us election every residential candidate has promised to move the american embassy to jerusalem —— has promised to move the american embassy tojerusalem —— presidential candidate. finally we have a leader who promised this and also kept his promise. and for this we say... we give

thanks that we have arrived at this place and at this time. president trump sent the message to your father, the israeli people thank you for keeping your word and for your courage and your determination and for your firm unwavering stead alongside the state of israel. we hope and expect that other nations

will follow your path and your leadership. we will continue to safeguard jerusalem as a city of peace and a city to all those of faith, a city of all its residents and citizens, of all religion and communities, who shared together one city which is so greatly loved by everyone. thank you all and god bless all of you. thank you. applause thank you president. the state of israel has many advocates in the white house. but none have shown

greater advocacy for or ability to advance the special relationship between israel and the united states and because of regional peace by my good friend jared kushner —— the cause. good friend jared kushner —— the cause. jared kushner will now offer his thoughts on this historic moment. thank you ambassador. you have really done a greatjob today and you have done a greatjob as an ambassador but today has been spectacular so thank you very much. applause i'm so proud to be here today in

jerusalem, the eternal heart of the jewish people. i'm especially honoured to be here today as a representative of the 45th president of the united states, donaldj trump. i also want to thank prime minister netanyahu and his wife to be here today for celebrating this special occasion. thank you very much. i would like to ask all of the members of congress who are here on their delegations to rise and be recognised, today would not be possible without your advocacy throughout the years. thank you debbie terry secretary sullivan ——

deputy. and of course ivanka trump, thank you for the great work you do to help so many people in our country and throughout the world, including me. i love you. i also wa nt to including me. i love you. i also want to acknowledge buys president mike pence for his tireless efforts to strengthen the us israeli relationship —— vice president. in december last year president trump announced to the world that the united states would finally recognise the truth, thatjerusalem is the capital of israel. he also declared that we would soon move our embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem and just five months later we are standing on these grounds stop while

presidents before 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. but today also demonstrates american leadership by moving our embassy to jerusalem demonstrates american leadership by moving our embassy tojerusalem we have shown the world once again that the united states can be trusted and we stand with our friends and our allies and above all else we have shown that the united states of america will do what is right and so we have. israel is a sovereign nation with the right to determine its own capital, the same right that is enjoyed by every other country in the world. in taking this action the united states has also chosen to strengthen the bond between our countries. our special bond is the

envy of nations throughout the world and this bond is forged through shared history and sustained through shared history and sustained through shared interests and immortalised in shared interests and immortalised in shared principles, and the united states stands with israel because we both believe in freedom and we stand together because we both believe in human rights and we stand together because we believe in democracy and the united states stands with israel because we believe we know that it is the right thing to do. applause when we stand together for the principles and the values we share we shine a light ofjustice onto the world. israel proves the ballast power of freedom every day and this land is the only land in the middle east in whichjews, muslims and christians that is paid and worship

freely according to their beliefs —— christians live and worship freely. these are the same values that the united states cherishes. these are the values that bind us together, the values that bind us together, the values that have made israel we re the values that have made israel were the most vibrant nations in the world, this tiny population has made advancements in technology, medicine and agriculture making the world a healthier and safer and more prosperous place, these are the blessings we hope israel and one—day share with its neighbours. last week president trump acknowledged another truth and kept another promise, he announced his intention to exit the dangerous flawed and one—sided iran deal. cheering applause iran's aggression threatens the many

peace—loving citizens throughout the region and the entire world, from israel tojordan region and the entire world, from israel to jordan and egypt, region and the entire world, from israel tojordan and egypt, to saudi arabia and beyond, many leaders are fighting to modernise their countries and create better lives for their people and in confronting common threats and in pursuit of common threats and in pursuit of common interests previously unimaginable opportunities and alliances are emerging. i'm also proud to be here today as a member of the team that president trump has entrusted to lead the efforts to bring peace between the israelis and the palestinians and it has been an honour to work with our new

secretary of state mike pompeo... applause national—security adviserjohn bolton. our ambassador david friedman. and our special representative jason greenbrier who does so much. i also want to acknowledge ambassador nikki haley who really has created a new day for israel... applause on december the sick, president trump was very clear that his decision —— december the 6th, president trump was very clear that his decision does not change our commitment towards lasting peace, in order to give our children a brighter and more boundless future,

and as we have seen from the protests of the last month and even today those provoking violence are pa rt today those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution. applause the united states is prepared to support a peace agreement in every way that we can and we believe that it is possible for both sides to gain more than they give so that all people can live in peace safe from danger, free from fear and able to pursue their dreams. the united states recognises the sensitivity surrounding jerusalem, a city that means so much to so many, jerusalem isa means so much to so many, jerusalem is a city unique in the history of civilisation, no other place on earth can claim significance to three major religions, each dayjews pray at the western wall, muslims also worship that their mosque and christians in their pace of worship,

thatis christians in their pace of worship, that is why president trump has called on all parties to maintain their faith, called on all parties to maintain theirfaith, and called on all parties to maintain their faith, and while the challenges are bound is, i have seen the determination of leaders in the region, they have seen too much pain, sorrow and wasted opportunity and they think it is time to try something better. throughout history jerusalem has been the victim of war and conquest and it has been used to divide people and instigate conflict by those with evil intentions but it is not have to be this way. jerusalem must remain a city that brings people of all faiths together, to visit and worship and respect each other and to appreciate the majesty of history and the glory of god's creation. israel has been a responsible custodian ofjerusalem and has kept these religious sites open to everyone and in fact

immediately after the 1967 war one of the first acts of the leaders was to bring about the holy places law, making sure places are available to members of all religions and money was made available to any synagogue, church or mask that suffered damage —— mosque. they are now trying to turn over a new leaf, standing for what is good and right and what is true. thank you. applause when there is peace in this region we will look back upon this day and remember that the journey to peace started with the strong america recognising the truth. the pursuit of peace is the noblest

pursuit of humankind and i believe peaceis pursuit of humankind and i believe peace is within reach if we dare to believe that the future can be different from the past, that we are not condemned to relive history and that the way things were is not how they must be for ever. it will not be an easy road and it will be filled with difficult moments and tough decisions but if we dream big and if we lead with courage we can change the trajectory for millions, from hopeless to boundless. this is i hope that many of us know personally, i'm here today as a proud american and the grandson of holocaust survivors and during world war ii my late grandparents fled their homes to the farms of belarus to escape nazi persecution but

somehow they managed to resist the horrors and survived. after the war they build a new life in america, a beacon of hope and a land of opportunity. in my office in the white house i keep a photo of them on my desk to remind me of how high the stakes are when nations fail to recognise right from wrong and the decisive power america has two tipped the scales in favour of the righteous. —— two tip. today we take another historic step in that direction and i am confident that as a result our nations will be stronger and our peoples more prosperous and our future stronger and our peoples more prosperous and ourfuture is stronger and our peoples more prosperous and our future is filled with even greater promise for peace. may god bless you, may god bless israel, may god bless the united states of america. applause jared just refer to his grandparents

who survived the holocaust, and to those holocaust survivors who are here today and who are watching on television, and who thought this day would never come, we can never relive the nightmare of your past, but we do hope that today brings you some measure of comfort. studio: benjamin netanyahu is going to be

the next main speaker. demonstrations are taking place a short distance from the embassy, on top of the demonstrations we have seen on the border at the gaza strip. we will keep an eye on those as we now hear from the israeli prime minister. deputy secretaryjohn deputy secretary john sullivan,

deputy secretaryjohn sullivan, and yourfamily, deputy secretaryjohn sullivan, and your family, ambassador david friedman and your family, senators and members of congress and the governor of florida, we have no better friends in the world, you stand for israel and you stand for jerusalem, thank you. the chief rabbis of israel, the ministers and pastas, the the many friends who have come here from around the world at the many friends who have prayed for this day and have worked for this day, thank you all, and of course i want to especially well, jared kushner and ivanka trump. your presence here

todayis ivanka trump. your presence here today is a testament to the importance of this occasion, not only for the trump administration but ina only for the trump administration but in a very personal way for you. for each of you and for the bishop of peace, and for president trump himself, thank you —— the pursuit of peace. dear friends, himself, thank you —— the pursuit of peace. dearfriends, what a glorious day, remember this moment! cheering this is history. president trump by recognising history, you have made history. all of us are deeply moved and all of us are deeply grateful, the me

being here brings back wonderful memories from my childhood —— for me. speaks hebrew. i know some of you didn't follow every word i said in hebrew! i will tell you that i spent the first three years of my life in this neighbourhood. and not far away. there were charming houses here, many open fields. i remember ambling in these fields with my brother. he

was six, i was three. he held my hand very tight. we would walk to this wondrous house, of the professor, a renowned jewish historian who was my father's teacher. i used to peer through the slats of the wooden synagogue where he and the great israeli writer used to pray on i would to pray on sabbath—and» !weuld this seerfiatb tbgi= slat: habfifit g is; if because 7 seerfiatb tbgi= slat: habfifit g is; if because my7 seerfiatb tng= slat: habfifit g is é; because my j‘wf‘ji told only so far, because my mother told me, you can't go any further. this was near the border. there was explosive sniperfire. was near the border. there was explosive sniper fire. that was then. this is now. today... applause today, the embassy of the most powerful nation on earth, our

greatest ally, the united states of america, today its embassy opened iii cheering america, today its embassy opened a; cheering and what a difference. what a difference. so, for me, this spot brings back personal memories. but for people, it evokes profound collective memories of the greatest moments we @ on this