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Utah Sen. Mike Lee Attends U.S. Jerusalem Embassy Opening Amid Deadly Clashes

Sen. Mike Lee
/
Twitter

Utah Sen. Mike Lee attended the opening of the U.S.'s new embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, a move that has escalated tensions in the region. 

In a Tweet, the Republican shared a photo of himself and Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Dean Heller of Nevada and Ted Cruz of Texas at a table with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, President Trump's daughter and son-in-law. 

"Honored to be here in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, on this historic day," he captioned it. 

In another Tweet from Ted Cruz, the senator shared a photo of the Congressional delegation with U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman in his new office.

President Trump announced the controversial move in December, breaking with decades of official U.S. policy. The decision was praised by Israeli leaders and other pro-Israel voters, but condemned by Palestinians and others in the international community who want to see East Jerusalem become the capital of a future Palestinian state. 

Trump said the move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was "a long-overdue step to advance the peace process," which have long since stalled. 

According to the Associated Press, Israeli soldiers killed more than 50 Palestinian protestors on Monday and wounded more than 2,000 in the deadliest day in Gaza since a 2014 war with Israel.

"We continue to hope for peace and longtime stability between Israelis and Palestinians, but the US could no longer wait to do the right thing in recognizing the nation’s rightful capital," said Sen. Lee in a statement. 

The new embassy is located in facilities currently used for U.S. consular activities. The State Department plans to find a more permanent location by 2019. 

 

Julia joined KUER in 2016 after a year reporting at the NPR member station in Reno, Nev. During her stint, she covered battleground politics, school overcrowding, and any story that would take her to the crystal blue shores of Lake Tahoe. Her work earned her two regional Edward R. Murrow awards. Originally from the mountains of Western North Carolina, Julia graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2008 with a degree in journalism. She’s worked as both a print and radio reporter in several states and several countries — from the 2008 Beijing Olympics to Dakar, Senegal. Her curiosity about the American West led her to take a spontaneous, one-way road trip to the Great Basin, where she intends to continue preaching the gospel of community journalism, public radio and podcasting. In her spare time, you’ll find her hanging with her beagle Bodhi, taking pictures of her food and watching Patrick Swayze movies.
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